Ray Lazdins is a retired discus thrower from Canada, who represented his native country twice at the Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a nine-time national champion in the discus throw.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada | ||||
| 1986 | Commonwealth Games | Edinburgh, Scotland | 1st | Discus [1] |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 21st | Discus |
| 1989 | Jeux de la Francophonie | Morocco | 2nd | Discus |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 21st | Discus |
The discus throw, also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight — called a discus — in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue Discobolus. Although not part of the current pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.
The men's discus throw competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens was held at the Olympic Stadium on 21–23 August. It was originally planned to hold the discus throw at the Ancient Olympia Stadium, but it was discovered that the field was not large enough to accommodate the range of modern discus throwers, and would have posed a danger to spectators. As such, it was decided to move the discus throw and to hold the shot put at the ancient stadium, despite the fact that the shot put was not contested at the Ancient Olympic Games. Thirty-nine athletes from 26 nations competed.
Martin John Sheridan was an Irish-American athlete and three time Olympic Games gold medallist in discus throw.
Jason Tunks is a Canadian former discus thrower who has represented Canada in the Olympics in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. He currently holds the Canadian National Record for discus at 67.88 m (222.7 ft).
The men's discus throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on 16 July 1908. 42 throwers from eleven nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Martin Sheridan of the United States, his second consecutive victory in the event. The Americans completed their first sweep in the discus throw, with Merritt Giffin taking silver and Bill Horr bronze.
Gabriele Hinzmann is a German former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw, such as at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she competed for East Germany and won the bronze medal.
Maurice Malcolm "Mac" Wilkins is an American athlete, who competed mainly in the discus throw. He was born in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 1969 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon.
The men's discus throw was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912. Forty-one discus throwers from 15 nation competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Armas Taipale of Finland, the nation's first medal in the men's discus throw. Richard Byrd took silver and James Duncan took bronze to continue the United States' podium streak at five consecutive Games.
Vikas Shive Gowda is an Indian discus thrower and shot putter. Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive Gowda, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team. Vikas Gowda is a Padma Shri awardee in 2017.
Werner Josef Reiterer is an Austrian-born retired discus thrower and shot putter from Australia, who represented the latter at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. His best result was winning the title in the men's discus throw at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Reiterer is an eight-time national champion in the discus throw.
Eric Eaton Coy was a discus thrower and shot putter, who represented Canada at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He finished 23rd in the discus throw event, and his exact result in the shot put is unknown.
Jane Haist was a Canadian discus thrower and shot putter, who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. She is best known for winning two gold medals for Canada at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in the women's discus throw and in the women's shot put event. She was national U.S. collegiate champion in the discus representing the University of Tennessee in 1977.
The final of the Men's Discus Throw event at the 2003 Pan American Games took place on Friday August 8, 2003. Jason Tunks won the first discus gold for Canada in the history of the Pan American Games.
The men's discus throw event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an entry list of 30 competitors from 20 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (15) took place on Sunday July 25, 1976. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The top twelve and ties, and all those reaching 60.00 metres advanced to the final. The qualification round was held in Saturday July 24, 1976. The event was won by Mac Wilkins of the United States, the nation's 13th victory in the men's discus throw. Wolfgang Schmidt took silver, matching East Germany's best result to date in the event. John Powell gave the United States a second medal in the competition with his bronze. Czechoslovakia's three-Games medal streak, all won by Ludvík Daněk, ended as Daněk finished ninth; the American streak reached 18 Games.
The discus throw is one of four track and field throwing events held at the Summer Olympics. The men's discus throw has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. The women's event was first contested at the 1928 Olympics, being one of the five athletics events in the inaugural Olympic women's programme.
Timothy "Tim" Nedow is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. He has personal bests of 21.33 m in the shot put and 61.49 m in the discus throw. He was the bronze medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2013 Francophonie Games and a five-time champion of the Canadian Track and Field Championships. He has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics, in 2013, and twice at the Summer Universiade. He studied and competed athletically at the University of Tulsa and DePaul University.
David Lorne Steen is a Canadian former track and field athlete who specialised in the shot put. He was a two-time gold medallist in the event at the Commonwealth Games in 1966 and 1970, breaking games records both times. He had won the bronze medal at the 1962 event. His personal record was 19.21 m, set in 1970.
George Watt Sutherland was a Canadian all-round track and field athlete. He was the hammer throw gold medallist at the 1938 British Empire Games. He also took a bronze medal in the discus throw at the same competition. He had been the runner-up in the hammer in 1934 British Empire Games.
Margaret Catherine "Rena" MacDonald was an American athlete. She was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her family moved to Massachusetts in 1910 and lived in Dedham. MacDonald became a naturalized US citizen in 1925. She joined the Boston Swimming Association. A versatile athlete, MacDonald competed in swimming and track and field events.
Commonwealth Games champions in men's discus throw | |
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