DISCUS THROW

Statue of discus thrower in Botanic Garden, Copenhagen, Denmark

For alternate meanings, see Discus.

The discus throw is an athletics (track and field) throwing event. The discus, the object to be thrown, is a lens-shaped heavy disc with a diameter of 220 mm (8.66 inches) and a weight of two kilograms (4 lb 7 oz) for the men's event, and one kg (2 lb 3 oz) for the women's, with a smaller diameter of 182 mm (7.17 inches). In U.S. high school track and field, boys typically throw a discus weighing 1.616 kg (3 lb 9 oz) and the girls throw the 1 kg (2.2 lb) women's disc. The discus usually has sides made of rubber, plastic, wood, or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. Disci with more weight in the rim produce greater angular momentum for any given spin rate, and thus more stability, although they are more difficult to throw. A practice discus made of solid rubber is often used in high school; it is cheaper, more durable, and easier to learn to throw with (due to the more equal distribution of weight, as opposed to the heavy rim weight of the metal rim/core disci).

Discus throwing is an ancient sport. In the 5th century BC the sculptor Myron produced a statue of a discus thrower (Discobolus), which is world-famous today (although the technique obviously employed by that ancient thrower is no longer considered anywhere near optimal).

To make a throw, the competitor starts in a slightly recessed concrete-surfaced circle of 2.5 metres (8 feet 2½ inches) diameter. They typically wind up while facing away from the direction of the throw. The thrower then spins around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum. The discus must land within a 40-degree or 60-degree arc marked by lines on the landing zone, and the competitor must not exit the circle until the discus has landed, and must then only exit through the rear half of the circle. The distance from the front edge of the circle to where the discus has landed is measured, and distances are rounded down to the nearest centimeter or half-inch. The competitor's best throw from the allocated number of throws, typically between three and eight, is recorded, and the competitor who legally throws the discus the farthest is declared the winner. Ties are broken by determining which thrower has the longer second-best throw.

The basic motion is a forehanded sidearm movement. The discus is spun off the index finger or the middle finger of the throwing hand, spinning clockwise when viewed above for a right-handed thrower, and vice-versa. As well as achieving maximum momentum in the discus on throwing, the discus's distance is also determined by the trajectory the thrower imparts, as well as the aerodynamic behaviour of the discus. Generally, one wishes to throw into a moderate headwind to achieve maximum throws. Also, a faster-spinning discus imparts greater gyroscopic stability. The technique of discus throwing is quite difficult to master and needs lots of experience to get right, thus most top throwers are thirty years old or older.

World records

The discus throw world record for men is:

• Jürgen Schult 74.08 m (243' 0.5") Neubrandenburg, GER (then GDR) 6 June 1986

And for women:

• Gabriele Reinsch 76.80 m (251' 11.75") Neubrandenburg, GER (then GDR) 9 July 1988

The discus is one of the few sports events in which the world record has never been set during the Olympics.

Top 10 performers

Accurate as of January 1, 2006.

Men (2 kg)

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
74.08	Jürgen Schult	East Germany	Neubrandenburg	June 6, 1986
73.88	Virgilijus Alekna	Lithuania	Kaunas	August 3, 2000
71.86	Yuriy Dumchev	USSR	Moscow	May 29, 1983
71.70	Róbert Fazekas	Hungary	Szombathely	July 14, 2002
71.50	Lars Riedel	Germany	Wiesbaden	May 3, 1997
71.32	Ben Plucknett	United States	Eugene	June 4, 1983
71.26	John Powell	United States	San Jose	June 9, 1984
71.26	Rickard Bruch	Sweden	Malmö	November 15, 1984
71.26	Imrich Bugár	Czechoslovakia	San Jose	May 25, 1985
71.18	Art Burns	United States	San Jose	July 19, 1983

Women (1 kg)

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
76.80	Gabriele Reinsch	East Germany	Neubrandenburg	July 9, 1988
74.56	Zdenka Šilhavá	Czechoslovakia	Nitra	August 26, 1984
74.56	Ilke Wyludda	East Germany	Neubrandenburg	July 23, 1989
74.08	Diana Sachse-Gansky	East Germany	Karl-Marx-Stadt	June 20, 1987
73.84	Daniela Costian	Romania	Bucharest	April 30, 1988
73.36	Irina Meszynski	East Germany	Prague	August 17, 1984
73.28	Galina Savinkova	USSR	Donetsk	September 8, 1984
73.22	Tsvetanka Khristova	Bulgaria	Kazanlak	April 19, 1987
73.10	Gisela Beyer	East Germany	Berlin	July 20, 1984
72.92	Martina Hellmann	East Germany	Potsdam	August 20, 1987