Alfred Oerter Jr. was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Games. Oerter is an inductee of the IAAF Hall of Fame.
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.
The Central African Republic competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. This marked sixth appearance of the nation at a Summer Olympics. The country entered three competitors; Henriette Youanga in the women's individual archery, Mickaël Conjungo in the men's discus throw and Maria-Joëlle Conjungo in the women's 100 metres hurdles. None of those athletes advanced out of their heats.
Rolf Danneberg is a former German athlete who, representing West Germany, won the gold medal in discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics with 66.60 metres. He won the Olympic bronze medal in 1988 in Seoul.
Michael Friedrich Möllenbeck was a German discus thrower.
Athletes from East Germany competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 267 competitors, 154 men and 113 women, took part in 139 events in 17 sports.
The men's discus throw was one of four men's throwing events on the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo. It was held on 15 October 1964. 29 athletes from 21 nations entered, with 1 additional athlete not starting in the qualification round. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Al Oerter of the United States, the nation's fourth consecutive and 11th overall victory in the men's discus throw. Oerter became the first man to win three medals in the event, all of them gold. He was only the second person to win three consecutive gold medals in any individual athletics event. It was the third of his four consecutive wins in the event. Ludvik Danek of Czechoslovakia took silver to break up the Americans' two-Games dominance of the discus podium; no non-American had won a medal since 1952. Dave Weill earned bronze to make this the fourth straight Games that the United States had won at least two medals in the event.
Jürgen Schult is a German former track and field athlete and, as of November 2023, the world record holder in the discus throw. Dating from 1986, this is the longest-standing record in men's track and field. Schult represented East Germany in the 1988 Olympic discus competition, where he won the gold medal.
Wolfgang Schmidt is a German former track and field athlete who competed for East Germany at the 1976 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal in the discus throw. A former world record holder, he also won several medals at the European Athletics Championships. Schmidt made headlines in 1982 due to his failed attempt to escape from East Germany. He later competed for the Federal Republic of Germany and won third place in the 1990 European Athletics Championships. Born in Berlin, he competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo.
The men's discus throw event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 24 September and Monday, 25 September. Forty-five athletes from 28 nations competed. The event was won by Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the nation's second victory in the men's discus throw. Lars Riedel of Germany took silver, becoming the 13th man to win multiple discus throw medals. Frantz Kruger earned South Africa's first medal in the event with his bronze.
Mac Maurice 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.
Anja Möllenbeck is a retired German discus thrower, whose personal best throw is 64.63 metres, achieved in May 1998 in Obersuhl.
Mohamed Naguib Hamed is an Egyptian athlete, one of only a few Egyptians to win gold medals in African athletic events. He competed in the men's discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics.
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.
The men's discus throw event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors from 20 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Jürgen Schult of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw and first medal since 1976. Romas Ubartas of the Soviet Union took silver, while Rolf Danneberg of West Germany earned bronze. Danneberg was the 10th man to win multiple discus throw medals, adding to his 1984 gold. For the first time, the United States competed in the event but did not make the podium.
Luciano Zerbini is an Italian retired Olympic discus thrower and shot putter.
The men's discus throw competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico took place on October 14–15. Twenty-seven athletes from 19 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Al Oerter of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 12th overall victory in the men's discus throw. Oerter finished his run of four victories in the event, the first person to win four consecutive gold medals in any individual Olympic event. For the first time during Oerter's reign, he was the only American on the podium as Lothar Milde of East Germany and Ludvík Daněk of Czechoslovakia took the other two medals. Daněk was the seventh man to win at least two discus throw medals; Oerter remains the only one to win four.
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.
Norbert Thiede is an East German former Olympic discus thrower. He represented his country in the men's discus throw at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His distance was a 61.14 in the qualifiers, and a 64.30 in the finals.
Hanka Pachale-Durante is a German volleyball player; she played for the German Women's National Team, representing them in consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. She represented her native country in at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing in ninth place, and at the 2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship, finishing third. For the 2009–10 season, she played for Italian club Pavia.
East Germany 
