The men's

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

was a track & field athletics event at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It was held on July 14 and July 15, 1900. 11 shot putters from five nations competed. The event was won by Richard Sheldon of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's shot put.

Josiah McCracken Josiah Calvin McCracken (March 30, 1874 – February 15, 1962) was an American football player and track and field athlete. Early life: football and track achievements McCracken, nicknamed Joe, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee. His earli ...

took silver and

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 ...

took bronze (the first man to win two medals in the event, after gold in 1896), completing an American medal sweep. The winning margin was 1.25 metres. As of 2023, this is the only time the men's shot put has been won by more than one metre at the Olympics.

Background

This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending champion

was the only returning shot putter from 1896.

Sotirios Versis Sotirios Versis (, 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 to a wealthy family, he studied a ...

had competed in the discus in 1896, but had not competed in the shot put then. Richard Sheldon was the 1896 IC4A and 1899 AAU champion (doubling in the discus in the latter competition). World record holder George Gray was not present. Hungary and Sweden each made their debut in the men's shot put. Denmark, Greece, and the United States all appeared for the second time.

Competition format

There were two rounds of throwing, with results carried over from qualifying to the final. The format of the competition is unclear; it appears that each thrower received three throws and the finalists received three more. The top five throwers in the qualifying round qualified for the final. The throwing stage was a 2.13 metre square.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics. ^* unofficial Richard Sheldon set a new Olympic record in the qualification with 13.80 metres and improved his mark in the final to 14.10 metres. All five of the finalists had beaten the old Olympic record in the qualifying round.

Schedule

Results

All throwers competed in the qualifier on July 14. Versis did not record a fair mark and it is not clear if he actually competed. The top five advanced to the final. Qualifier marks were still valid in the final. McCracken and Garrett did not compete, as the final was held on July 15, a Sunday. No changes in position occurred during the final.

References

Sources

International Olympic Committee
* De Wael, Herman. ''Herman's Full Olympians'': "Athletics 1900". Accessed 18 March 2006. Available electronically a

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Men's shot put Men's throwing shot put Shot put at the Olympics