The men's

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

was one of two throwing events on the

Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympiad, twelve athletics events were contested. A total of 25 medals (12 silver for winners, 13 bronze for runner-up, none for third) were awarded. The medals were later denoted as 37 modern medal ...

programme. The discus throw was the fourth event (and the second final) held. It was contested on 6 April. 9 athletes competed, including one each from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

as well as three

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

and two

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

. Many of the competitors had never thrown a discus before, as the event had never been held at an international competition.

Robert Garrett Robert S. Garrett (May 24, 1875 – April 25, 1961) was an American athlete, as well as investment banker and philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland and financier of several important archeological excavations. Garrett was the first modern Ol ...

of the

was the last foreigner in the competition, and eventually defeated the famed Greek competitors to win the second modern Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Garrett had practiced with a 10 kilogram discus, resulting in disappointing marks and his deciding not to compete in Athens (and competing only in the shot put, which he would win the next day); upon arrival, he learned that the actual discus weighed two kilograms and decided to compete. Greece took the second (

Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos ( el, Παναγιώτης Παρασκευόπουλος, 1875 – 8 July 1956) was a Greek athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, and the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris. He was born in ...

) and third (

Sotirios Versis Sotirios Versis ( el, Σωτήριος Βερσής, 1876 in Athens, Greece – 1919) was a Greek athlete and weightlifter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris. Versis was born in Athens ...

) places.

Background

This was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Thirteen athletes entered, but only nine started. Athletes from outside Greece were unfamiliar with the event, while the Greek champions (most notably

) were somewhat hampered by attempting to "strike poses reminiscent of the ancient Greek statues of 'diskoboloi.'"Official Report, p. 64.

Competition format

There was a single round of throwing. Each thrower received three throws and the top three after that received two more. The throws were made from a square area with a side length of 2 to 2.5 meters. The discus weighed 2 kilograms. Throws were supposed to be made in the style of

Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agelad ...

Discobolus The ''Discobolus'' of Myron ("discus thrower", el, Δισκοβόλος, ''Diskobólos'') is an Ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period at around 460–450 BC. The sculpture depicts a youthful male athlete thro ...

statue, though this rule was not enforced (to the extent it would have been possible).

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1896 Summer Olympics. ^* unofficial The following record was established during the competition:

Schedule

Results

As with many of the 1896 events, the results are incomplete and disputed. The list below is per Olympedia. The IOC webpage has these 9 competitors, placing Papasideris 5th, Robertson 6th, and Sjöberg 7th (with no 4th place finisher listed). The Official Report says there were 11 competitors, though it is often unclear whether it means those who entered or who actually competed. The nationality of the two additional men are given as German and Danish, so the Official Report appears to include Schuhmann and Winckler. Megede replaces Grisel with an "A. Adler" of France, placing ''him'' 4th, follows the IOC webpage placement of Papasideris, Robertson, and Sjöberg, and includes Schuhmann and Winckler as having competed.

References

Sources

* (Digitally available a
la84foundation.org
* (Excerpt available a
la84foundation.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's discus throw Men's throw discus Discus throw at the Olympics