Discus throw

The discus throw, also known as disc throw, is a track and field event where an athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight called a discus, competing to achieve a greater distance than other participants. The sport has ancient origins, dating back to ancient Greece, as evidenced by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue known as the Discobolus. It was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, a competition that can be traced to at least 708 BC, and it remains part of the modern decathlon. The sport was resurrected in the 1870s in Magdeburg, Germany, by gymnastics teacher Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students. Organized men's competition resumed in the late 19th century and has been a feature of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first edition in 1896. Images of discus throwers were prominent in early Olympic advertising, including fundraising stamps for the 1896 Games and the main posters for the 1920 and 1948 Summer Olympics. The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the whole body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia, who developed this technique after studying the Discobolus statue and earned a silver medal in the 1900 Olympics. Women’s competition began in the early 20th century and was added to the Olympic program for the 1928 games. The discus itself is a heavy disc with a metal rim and a metal core, made from materials such as plastic, wood, fiberglass, or carbon fiber. Its weight and size vary by age and gender, governed by World Athletics or USA Track & Field. The throw is executed from a recessed circle, with the athlete spinning one and a half times to build momentum before releasing the discus, which must land within a 34.92-degree sector. The technique is difficult to master, often requiring throwers to be 30 years or older to perfect.