The men's shot put was a

track and field athletics Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

event held as part of the

athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics These are the results of athletics (sport), athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only. The athletics programme grew by four events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre rac ...

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 Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California. Biography Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the fi ...

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 William Patrick "Parry" O'Brien (January 28, 1932 – April 21, 2007) was an American shot put champion. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals (1952, 1956) and one silver medal ( 1960). In his last Olympic ...

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

returned after competing in 1904 and 1908; other 1908 competitors that returned in 1912 were

Michalis Dorizas Michális Dórizas (; 16 April 1886 – 21 October 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 bronze in the stone throw in 1906. ...

of Greece, Charles Lagarde and

André Tison André Tison (26 February 1885 – 25 December 1963) was a French track and field athlete who competed at the 1906, 1908, 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. Biography At the 1906 Olympic Games, he finished fourth in the shot put, fifth in the ...

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

, 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 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

), 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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's Shot Put Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics Shot put at the Olympics