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 a

track and field athletics Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

event held as part of the

athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics These are the results of athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only. The athletics programme grew by 4 events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre races were introduced, as ...

programme. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912. Forty-one discus throwers from 15 nation competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.Official report, p. 61. The event was won by

Armas Taipale Armas Rudolf Taipale (27 July 1890 – 9 November 1976) was a Finnish athlete. He competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics and won gold medals in two discus throw events, conventional and two-handed, where the total was counted as a sum of best t ...

of Finland, the nation's first medal in the men's discus throw. Richard Byrd took silver and James Duncan took bronze to continue the United States' podium streak at five consecutive Games.

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning competitors from 1908 included fourth-place finisher

Verner Järvinen Venne "Verner" Järvinen (3 April 1870 – 31 January 1941) was a Finnish track and field athlete, who competed mostly in throwing events. He won the gold medal in the Greek-style discus in the 1906 Intercalated Games, and the bronze in the 1908 ...

of Finland, seventh-place finisher György Luntzer of Hungary, eighth-place finisher

André Tison André Tison (26 February 1885 – 25 December 1963) was a French Track and field, track and field athlete who competed at the 1906 Summer Olympics, 1906, 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908, 1912 Summer Olympics, 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1906 h ...

of France, and eleventh-place finisher

Emil Welz Emil Welz (born 5 April 1879, date of death unknown) was a German track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Finsterwalde Finsterwalde (, dsb, Grabin) is a town in the Elbe-E ...

of Germany. Multiple gold medalist

Martin Sheridan Martin John Sheridan (March 28, 1881 – March 27, 1918) was a three time Olympic Games gold medallist. He was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland, and died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the day before his 37th birthday ...

of the United States had retired in 1911, leaving the competition "wide-open." Canada, Luxembourg, Russia, and Turkey each made their debut in the men's discus throw. Greece and the United States each made their fifth appearance, having competed in every edition of the Olympic men's discus throw to date.

Competition format

The competition continued to use the single, divided-final format in use since 1896. Each athlete received three throws, with the top three receiving an additional three throws. Ties were broken by an additional throw. The landing area was a 90 degree sector.Official Report, p. 1009.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

ended the competition with the new Olympic record at 45.21 metres, with seven men bettering the old record.

Schedule

Results

No fewer than seven throwers beat the old Olympic record of 40.89 metres, beginning with Duncan and Niklander's first throws. Niklander's was the best of the round. The second throw resulted in Mucks joining those who beat the old record, while Taipale, Byrd, and Duncan beat even the new one, with Taipale's 43.91 metres setting a mark no other thrower would reach. Philbrook and Tronner beat the old record in the third throw, but neither was able to break into the top three. Niklander, after his first throw, was unable to make another legal mark and fell to fourth, where he finished. In the final, Byrd and Duncan were unable to improve upon their previous marks, throwing shorter in their first throws and scratching in their second and third throws each. Taipale, on the other hand, regardless of the safety of his lead, threw even further in his first and then his third throw, finishing at 45.21 metres, nearly 3 metres ahead of Byrd. There were 32 non-starters.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's Discus Throw Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics Discus throw at the Olympics