Information about Shot Put

The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball (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.

Competitions and rules

Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 7 feet (2.135 meters) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10 cm (4") high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.

Rules

• The athlete must rest the shot close to the neck and keep it tight to the neck while throwing.
• At the end of the throw, the thrower must push the throwing arm straight from the neck, pushing the ball off the fingertips. (If the thrower does not push the ball out and throws it like a baseball, the thrower may incur a shoulder or neck injury.)

Foul throws are called when an athlete:

• Does not leave from the rear half of the circle.
• Steps out of the circle before the judge calls the mark.
• Allows some article of clothing to touch the top of the toeboard, the top of the iron ring or outside the circle.
• Throws a shot which falls outside the throwing sector to the left or the right.
• Throws a shot like a baseball instead of pushing off the fingertips

Shot put is not merely heaving a metal ball but requires immense strength, power, grace, balance, and speed.

Each competitor receives a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In high school it is 3 or 4 (depends on the league their school is in). In men's competition, the shot weighs 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 used as practice shots as well. The weight of the ball differs depending the age group. Men over the age of 50 use a 6kg shot (13.2 pounds).

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

Two putting styles are in current general use by shot put competitors: the glide and the spin.

The glide was invented in the United States in 1876. With this technique, a right-hand thrower begins facing the rear of the circle and kicks to the front with the left leg while pushing off forcefully with the right. The key is to move quickly across the circle with as little air under the feet as possible, hence the name "glide". As the thrower crosses the circle, the hips twist toward the front, followed by the shoulders and strikes in a putting motion with their arm.

The origin of the spin dates to 1951, when Parry O'Brien of the United States invented a technique that involves the putter facing backwards, rotating 180 degrees across the circle, and then tossing the shot. From this, in 1976, Brian Oldfield popularized the spin technique (originally used by German throwers in the early 1970s) which involves rotating like a discus thrower and using rotational momentum for power. Oldfeld set the record of 75 feet (22.86m) in 1975; it was unofficial, however, because he was a professional at a time when the IAAF had an amateur-only policy, but undisputed and over 3 feet better than the official world record at the time. Oldfield's record in the 21 years since has been bettered by only 10 inches. In the spin, a right-handed thrower faces the rear, and begins to spin on the ball of the left foot. The thrower comes around and faces the front of the circle and drives the right foot into the middle of the circle. Finally, the thrower reaches for the front of the circle with the left foot, twists his hips and shoulders like in the glide, and puts the shot.

With all putting styles, the goal is to release the shot with maximum forward velocity at an angle of approximately forty degrees. 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 breeds higher consistency for the athlete as opposed to the rotational technique. It is worth noting that the world record by a male putter (Randy Barnes) was completed with the spin technique, while the close second-best all-time distance (Ulf Timmermann) was completed with the glide technique. Measuring which technique can provide the most potential is difficult, as many of the best throws recorded with each technique come from athletes under a thick cloud of doping suspicion and violations. Rather, selecting the right technique differs on an individual basis, with almost all throwers first developing the glide technique.

The decision to glide or rotate should largely be based on the thrower's size and power. A short, powerful and quick thrower would benefit more from the rotation than the glide. A tall thrower is likely to have more success than a short thrower using the glide, but the rotation reigns supreme for all sizes of throwers. The glide, however, is an excellent way of learning the shot put.

World records

The current world record holders are:

Type	Athlete	Distance	Venue	Date
Men
Outdoor	Randy Barnes	m ()	Westwood, California, USA	20 May 1990
Indoor	Randy Barnes	m ()	Los Angeles, California, USA	20 January 1989
Women
Outdoor	Natalya Lisovskaya	m ()	Moscow, RUS	7 June 1987
Indoor	Helena Fibingerová	m ()	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 September 2007.

Men

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

Women

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

External links

• International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – official site
• World Record progression in athletics
• World Masters Athletics - official site
• Masters T&F World Rankings
• Athletics all-time performances

Olympic champions in women's shot put
1948: Micheline Ostermeyer | 1952: Galina Zybina | 1956: Tamara Tyshkevich | 1960: Tamara Press | 1964: Tamara Press | 1968: Margitta Gummel | 1972: Nadezhda Chizhova | 1976: Ivanka Hristova | 1980: Ilona Slupianek | 1984: Claudia Losch | 1988: Natalya Lisovskaya | 1992: Svetlana Krivelyova | 1996: Astrid Kumbernuss | 2000: Yanina Karolchyk | 2004: Yumileidi Cumb

Sprints: 60 m | 100 m | 200 m | 400 m Hurdles: 60 m hurdles | 100 m hurdles | 110 m hurdles | 400 m hurdles Middle distance: 800 m | 1500 m | 3000 m | steeplechase Long distance: 5,000 m | 10,000 m | half marathon| marathon | ultramarathon | multiday races| Cross country running Relays: 4 100 m | 4 400 m;       Racewalking;       Wheelchair racing Throws: Discus | Hammer | Javelin | Shot put Jumps: High jump | Long jump | Pole vault | Triple jump Combination: Pentathlon | Heptathlon | Decathlon Highly uncommon: Standing high jump | Standing long jump | Standing triple jump