Shot put

Shot put

The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball, also called the shot, as far as possible.

In the English language it is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the throwing motion. Both usages are grammatically incorrect.

Competitions and rules

Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 2.135 metres (7 feet) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10 cm (4") high at the front of the circle. The shot must land within an angle of approximately 30 degrees. The athlete must rest the shot in between the neck and shoulder and keep it tight to the neck while throwing. At the end of the throw, the thrower must push the throwing arm straight with the thumb pointing down; if the thrower does not push the ball out and throws it like a baseball, the thrower may receive injury. Throwing a shot requires immense strength and power as well as grace and balance; while not as much so as discus, shot put is not merely heaving a metal ball but requires finesse. The shot putters must enter and leave the circle from the rear half of the circle, or a foul is called. Other fouls include stepping out of the circle before the judge calls the mark, letting some article of clothing touch the top of the toeboard or outside the circle, and/or the shot falling outside of the borders to the left and the right. The distance thrown is measured from the front of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.

Each competitor gets a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In men's competition, the shot weighs approximately 7.26 kilograms (16 pounds). The women's shot weighs 4 kg (8.8 pounds). American high schools usually use 12 pound (5.44 kg) shots for boys and 4 kg shots for girls; these are sometimes known as practice shots.The weight of the ball is different depending the age group.

Shot put competitions have been held at the Summer Olympic Games since their inception, and is also included as an event in the indoor world championships. The shot put originates from Highland games 'stone put' where Scottish people put a rounded cube stone or metal form of considerable weight from behind a given line.

Putting styles

There are currently two mainstream putting styles in use by shot put competitors, the glide and the spin. In the glide the thrower begins facing the rear of the circle and kicks to the front with his left leg while pushing off forcefully with the right. The key is to move quickly across the circle with as little air under your feet as possible (hence the name glide). As the thrower crosses the circle, he twists his hips toward the front, followed by the shoulders and strikes in a putting motion with his arm. (the glide, invented in 1876 in the United States). In 1951, Parry O'Brien of the United States invented a technique that involves the putter facing backwards, spinning 180 degrees across the circle, and then tossing the shot. From this, in 1976, Brian Oldfield popularized a technique which involves rotating like a discus thrower (the spin). In the spin, the thrower faces the rear, and begins to spin on the balls of his left foot. As he comes around and faces the front of the circle, he steps with his right foot into the middle of the circle (always keeping in balance and with velocity toward the front. Finally the thrower reaches for the front of the circle with his left foot, twists his hips and shoulders like in the glide, and puts the shot. The inventor of the spin is unknown although it was first used by the Germans in the early 1970's. A third, new style, which uses a cartwheel across the ring, is gaining popularity among female throwers.

In all three cases, the key is to gain maximum forward velocity to help speed the shot on its way. Currently, most top male shot putters use the spin, but the glide remains popular especially at the amateur level and among women, since the technique is easier to master. It is noteworthy that the number one distance all time by a male putter (Randy Barnes) was completed with the spin technique and the close second-best all-time distance (Ulf Timmermann) was completed with the glide technique.

World records

The current world record holders are:

Randy Barnes (Outdoor) 23.12 m (75 ft 10¼ in) Westwood, CA USA 20 May 1990:Randy Barnes (Indoor) 22.66 m (74 ft 4¼ in) Los Angeles, CA, USA 20 January 1989

And for women:

Natalya Lisovskaya (Outdoor) 22.63 m (74 ft 3 in) Moscow, URS 7 June 1987:Helena Fibingerová (Indoor) 22.50 m (73 ft 9¾ in) Jablonec, TCH February 19 1977

The top distances for the last decade have decreased, especially for women, perhaps due to increased anti-doping efforts.

Top 10 performers

Accurate as of January 1, 2006.

Men

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
23.12	Randy Barnes		Westwood	May 20, 1990
23.06	Ulf Timmermann		Chania	May 22, 1988
22.91	Alessandro Andrei		Viareggio	August 12, 1987
22.86	Brian Oldfield		El Paso	May 10, 1975
22.75	Werner Günthör		Bern	August 23, 1988
22.67	Kevin Toth		Lawrence	April 19, 2003
22.64	Udo Beyer		Berlin	August 20, 1986
22.54	Christian Cantwell		Gresham	June 5, 2004
22.52	John Brenner		Walnut	April 26, 1987
22.51	Adam Nelson		Portland	May 18, 2002

Women

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
22.63	Natalya Lisovskaya		Moscow	June 7, 1989
22.45	Ilona Briesenick		Potsdam	May 11, 1980
22.32	Helena Fibingerová		Nitra	August 20, 1977
22.19	Claudia Losch		Hainfeld	August 23, 1987
21.89	Ivanka Khristova		Belmeken	July 4, 1976
21.86	Marianne Adam		Leipzig	June 23, 1979
21.76	Li Meisu		Shijiazhuang	April 23, 1988
21.73	Natalya Akhrimenko		Leselidze	May 21, 1988
21.69	Vita Pavlysh		Budapest	August 15, 1998
21.66	Sui Xinmei		Beijing	June 9, 1990