The

weight throw Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...

at the Summer Olympics was contested at the

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

in 1904 and 1920. Part of the Olympic athletics programme, it was the fourth

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes 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 the jumping eve ...

throwing event to be contested at the Olympics, after the shot put,

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

and

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

. The latter three events, along with the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the wom ...

(introduced in 1908), are now the only four throwing events on the Olympic programme. Only men competed in the two years that the event was held. Both competitions used the standard implement used in the United States. International participation was limited in the event which was mainly practised in North America. Five of the six entrants in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics were American, but Canadian

Étienne Desmarteau Joseph-Étienne Desmarteau (4 February 1873 – 29 October 1905) was a Canadian athlete, winner of the weight throwing event at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Boucherville, Quebec, Desmarteau was member of the Montréal Athle ...

topped the podium. Given the lack of interest from other nations, the event was dropped for the next Olympics. It was revived once more for the 1920 Summer Olympics, held in Antwerp, and Swedish and Finnish throwers joined the American team and sole Canadian

Archie McDiarmid Archibald McDiarmid (December 8, 1881 – August 11, 1957) was a Canadian track and field athlete born in Balvicar, Scotland who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1920 he finished fourth in the 56 pound weight throw competition and ...

at that competition. Pat McDonald, the oldest entrant at age 41, won the gold medal for the United States. His winning mark of remains the best achieved for the event in Olympic competition.Athletics at the 1920 Antwerpen Summer Games: Men's 56-pound Weight Throw
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-22. The weight throw was again dropped from the programme after 1920 and has not since gained wide participation in track and field events beyond North America.

Medal summary

Medals by country

References

Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-22. ;Specific

External links

Official Olympics website
{{History of Olympic athletics events Olympics

Weight throw Two sports have events that fall under the name of weight throw one being the track and field event and the other being the Scottish highland games events. The track and field event is most popular in the United States as an indoor equivalent t ...