Shot put

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Shot put

The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball, also called the shot, as far as possible.

In the English language it is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the throwing motion. Both usages are grammatically incorrect.

1 Competitions and rules
2 Putting styles
3 World records
4 Top 10 performers
- 4.1 Men
- 4.2 Women

[edit] Competitions and rules

Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 7 feet (2.135 metres) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 10 cm (4") high at the front of the circle. The distance thrown is measured from the inside of the circumfrence of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.

Rules

The athlete must rest the shot in between the neck and shoulder and keep it tight to the neck while throwing.
At the end of the throw, the thrower must push the throwing arm straight with the thumb pointing down.
- If the thrower does not push the ball out and throws it like a baseball, the thrower may receive an injury.

Foul Throws, are called when an athlete,

Does not leave from the rear half of the circle.
Steps out of the circle before the judge calls the mark.
Allows some article of clothing to touch the top of the toeboard, the top of the iron ring or outside the circle.
Throws a shot which falls outside of the borders to the left and the right.

While not requiring the same level of finesse as discus, shot put is not merely heaving a metal ball but requires immense strength, power, grace, and balance.

Each competitor receives a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In men's competition, the shot weighs 7.26 kilograms (16 pounds). The women's shot weighs 4 kg (8.8 pounds). American high schools usually use 12 pound (5.44 kg) shots for boys and 4 kg shots for girls; these are sometimes known as practice shots. The weight of the ball differs depending the age group.

Shot put competitions have been held at the Summer Olympic Games since their inception, and is also included as an event in the indoor world championships. The shot put originates from Highland games 'stone put' where Scottish people put a rounded cube stone or metal form of considerable weight from behind a given line.

[edit] Putting styles

Two mainstream putting styles currently exist in use by shot put competitors, the glide and the spin. In the glide, the thrower begins facing the rear of the circle and kicks to the front with the left leg while pushing off forcefully with the right, for a right-handed thrower. The key is to move quickly across the circle with as little air under the feet as possible, hence the name "glide". As the thrower crosses the circle, the hips twist toward the front, followed by the shoulders and strikes in a putting motion with his arm. (the glide, invented in 1876 in the United States). In 1951, Parry O'Brien of the United States invented a technique that involves the putter facing backwards, spinning 180 degrees across the circle, and then tossing the shot. From this, in 1976, Brian Oldfield popularized a technique which involves rotating like a discus thrower, known as the spin, which uses rotational momentum for power. Oldfeld set the record of 75feet in 1975; "unofficial" because he was a professional, but undisputed, and 3 feet,7 inches better than the official world record at the time. Oldfield's record in the 21 years since has been bettered by only 10 inches. In the spin, the thrower faces the rear, and begins to spin on the ball of the left foot. The thrower comes around and faces the front of the circle and steps the right foot into the middle of the circle. Finally, the thrower reaches for the front of the circle with the left foot, twists his hips and shoulders like in the glide, and puts the shot. The inventor of the spin is unknown although it was first used by the Germans in the early 1970s.

In all three cases, the key is to gain maximum forward velocity to help speed the shot on its way at roughly a forty five degree angle upon release of the shot put. Currently, most top male shot putters use the spin, but the glide remains popular, especially at the amateur level and among women, since the technique is easier to master. It is noteworthy that the number one distance all time by a male putter (Randy Barnes) was completed with the spin technique, while the close second-best all-time distance (Ulf Timmermann) was completed with the glide technique.

[edit] World records

The current world record holders are:

Randy Barnes (Outdoor) 23.12 m (75 ft 10¼ in) Westwood, CA USA 20 May 1990

Randy Barnes (Indoor) 22.66 m (74 ft 4¼ in) Los Angeles, CA, USA 20 January 1989

And for women:

Natalya Lisovskaya (Outdoor) 22.63 m (74 ft 3 in) Moscow, URS 7 June 1987

Helena Fibingerová (Indoor) 22.50 m (73 ft 9¾ in) Jablonec, TCH February 19, 1977

The top distances for the last decade have decreased, especially for women, perhaps due to increased anti-doping efforts.

[edit] Top 10 performers

Accurate as of October 10, 2006.

[edit] Men

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
23.12	Randy Barnes	United States	Drake Stadium	May 23, 1990
23.06	Ulf Timmermann	East Germany	Chania	May 22, 1988
22.91	Alessandro Andrei	Italy	Viareggio	August 12, 1987
22.86	Brian Oldfield	United States	El Paso	May 10, 1975
22.75	Werner Günthör	Switzerland	Bern	August 23, 1988
22.67	Kevin Toth	United States	Lawrence	April 19, 2003
22.64	Udo Beyer	East Germany	Berlin	August 20, 1986
22.54	Christian Cantwell	United States	Gresham	June 5, 2004
22.52	John Brenner	United States	Walnut	April 26, 1987
22.51	Adam Nelson	United States	Portland	May 18, 2002

[edit] Women

Mark	Athlete	Nationality	Venue	Date
22.63	Natalya Lisovskaya	Soviet Union	Moscow	June 7, 1989
22.45	Ilona Briesenick	East Germany	Potsdam	May 11, 1980
22.32	Helena Fibingerová	Czechoslovakia	Nitra	August 20, 1977
22.19	Claudia Losch	West Germany	Hainfeld	August 23, 1987
21.89	Ivanka Khristova	Bulgaria	Belmeken	July 4, 1976
21.86	Marianne Adam	East Germany	Leipzig	June 23, 1979
21.76	Li Meisu	China	Shijiazhuang	April 23, 1988
21.73	Natalya Akhrimenko	Soviet Union	Leselidze	May 21, 1988
21.69	Vita Pavlysh	Ukraine	Budapest	August 15, 1998
21.66	Sui Xinmei	China	Beijing	June 9, 1990