The men's shot put was a
track and field athletics event held as part of the
athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Wednesday, July 10, 1912. Twenty-two shot putters from 14 nations competed.
NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
[Official report, p. 61.] The event was won by
Pat McDonald of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive victory in the men's shot put. The American team swept the top three places, the third time in five Games (1900, 1904).
Ralph Rose took silver, 9 centimetres shy of a third gold medal; he became the first man to win three medals of any color (through the 2016 Games, matched only by
Parry O'Brien).
Background
This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two-time Olympic champion
Ralph Rose returned after competing in 1904 and 1908; other 1908 competitors that returned in 1912 were
Michalis Dorizas
Michális Dórizas ( el, Μιχάλης Δώριζας; April 16, 1886 – October 21, 1957) was a Greek athlete who competed in throwing events at the 1906, 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the javelin throw in 1908 and a ...
of Greece,
Charles Lagarde
Charles Lagarde (13 September 1878 – 18 April 1954) was a French athlete. He competed in the discus throw and shot put at the 1908 Summer Olympics and the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Biography
He represented France twice at the Olympic Games i ...
and
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
Elmer Niklander
Elmer Konstantin Niklander (19 January 1890 – 12 November 1942) was a Finnish athlete who competed in throwing events, winning the gold medal in the 1920 discus throw and three other Olympic medals and 44 Finnish championships.
Athletics
N ...
of Finland. Rose had been dominant from 1904 through 1910, but countryman
Pat McDonald had beaten him in the AAU championships in 1911 and 1912. The Olympic competition was expected to be a match between the two, with everyone else vying for third.
Austria, Bohemia, Italy, Luxembourg, Russia, and Turkey made their debut in the men's shot put. Greece and the United States each appeared for the fifth time, having competed in all Olympic shot put competitions to date.
Competition format
The competition continued to use the two-round format used in 1900 and 1908, with results carrying over between rounds. Each athlete received three throws in the qualifying round. The top three men advanced to the final, where they received an additional three throws. The best result, qualifying or final, counted.
[Official Report, p. 90.][Official Report, p. 407.]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Schedule
Results
Ralph Rose, the two-time defending Olympic champion and holder of the Olympic record (14.81 metres, set at the 1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...
), was unseated by Pat McDonald after a colossal throw in the final. Rose bettered his own record with his first throw, coming just shy of 15 metres. With his third throw, Rose again topped himself, heaving the shot 15.25 metres while none of the other competitors had yet matched his first throw. At the end of the preliminaries, Rose's 15.25 stood well above McDonald's 14.78 metres and Lawrence Whitney's 13.93 metres.
Each of the three finalists received three more throws for the finals, but only two out of the combined 9 throws were legal marks. Whitney, who had scratched twice in the preliminaries, did so three more times to make his 13.93 metres the only legal throw of his 6. Rose's first throw in the finals was measured at 14.96 metres, giving him three throws that were better than the old record. McDonald, however, launched his first throw fully 15.34 metres to take the record and the gold medal after none of the three throwers could make a legal mark in their second or third throws.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's Shot Put
Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Shot put at the Olympics