On This Day

Shot Put in History

Athletics: Decathlon - Discus Throw - Hammer Throw - Heptathlon - High Jump - Hurdles - Javelin Throw - Long Jump - Marathon Running - Middle Distance Running - Pentathlon - Pole Vault - Race Walking - Relay Race - Sprinting - Triple Jump - World Championships in Athletics

Events in Sport

  • 1896-04-07 American athlete Robert Garrett wins the throwing double at the Athens Olympics by taking out the shot putt (11.22m); wins the discus the previous day
  • 1948-08-03 An American sweep of the medals in the men's shot put at the London Olympics with Wilbur Thompson taking gold ahead of teammates Jim Delaney & Jim Fuchs
  • 1948-08-04 The women's shot put introduced to track & field program at the London Olympics; inaugural gold medallist Micheline Ostermeyer of France who also won the women's discus gold
  • 1954-05-08 1st shot-put throw over 60' (18.29 m) by American Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, California
  • 1960-08-31 US sweeps the medals in the shot put at the Rome Olympics; Bill Nieder wins gold with 19.68m, ahead of countrymen Parry O'Brien and Dallas Long
  • 1960-09-02 Tamara & Irina Press (Soviet Union) become first sisters to win Olympic gold medals; Tamara wins Rome Olympics shot put one day after Irina takes out 80m hurdles
  • 1964-10-19 Tamara Press of the Soviet Union wins the women's discus with an Olympic record throw 57.27m in Tokyo; first of 2 gold medals at the Games (shot put)
  • 1964-10-20 Tamara Press of the Soviet Union wins her second gold medal in 2 days by taking out the women's shot put at the Tokyo Olympics; Press' second consecutive Olympic shot put title
  • 1968-10-20 Margitta Gummel of East Germany throws world record 19.61m to beat teammate Marita Lange by 0.83m and win the women's shot put gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • 1972-09-07 Nadezhda Chizhova of the Soviet Union throws a world record 21.03m to win the women's shot put at the Munich Olympics
  • 1975-05-09 Brian Oldfield shot puts 22.86 m ('unofficial' world record, due to his professional status) in El Paso, Texas
  • 1983-06-25 Udo Beyer of East Germany sets record for shot put, 22.22 m
  • 2004-08-18 Shot put event at the Athens Olympics held in Ancient Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games; first time women ever compete in venue; Yumileidi Cumbá of Cuba wins women's gold; American Adam Nelson men's gold
  • 2012-08-13 Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus is stripped of her shot-put gold medal after failing a drugs test

Birthdays in Sport

  • 1901-09-25 Bud Houser, American field athlete (Olympic gold discus & shot put 1924, discus 1928), born in Winigan, Missouri (d. 1994)
  • 1901-12-03 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), born in Aberdeen, South Dakota (d. 1970)
  • 1911-07-28 Gerhard Stöck, German athlete (Olympic gold javelin, bronze shot put 1936), born in Kaiserswalde, Germany (d. 1985)
  • 1922-12-23 Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete (Olympic gold shot put, discus; bronze high jump 1948), born in Rang-du-Fliers, Pas-de-Calais, France (d. 2001)
  • 1932-01-28 Parry O'Brien, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1952, 1956; silver 1960), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2007)
  • 1933-08-10 Bill Nieder, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, silver 1956), born in Hempstead, New York (d. 2022)
  • 1937-05-10 Tamara Press, Soviet athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, 64; discus 1960, 64), born in Kharkiv, Ukraine (d. 2021)
  • 1940-04-11 Wladyslaw Komar, Polish athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1972) and actor, born in Kaunas, Lithuania (d. 1998)
  • 1941-06-29 Margitta Gummel-Helmbold, German track & field athlete (Olympic gold GDR women's shot put 1968), born in Magdeburg, Germany (d. 2021)
  • 1941-11-19 Ivanka Khristova, Bulgarian athlete (Olympic gold women's shot put 1976), born in Osikovitsa, Bulgaria (d. 2022)
  • 1945-03-05 Randy Matson, American field athlete (Olympic gold shot putt 1968), born in Pampa, Texas
  • 1945-06-01 Brian Oldfield, American shot-putter (credited with making rotational technique popular), born in Elgin, Illinois (d. 2017)
  • 1945-09-29 Nadezhda Chizova, Russian shot putter (Olympic gold/silver/bronze-68/72/76), born in Usolye-Sibirskoye, Russia
  • 1949-07-13 Helena Fibingerova, Czech, shot putter (Olympic bronze 1976)
  • 1949-08-23 Geoff Capes, British shot putter, born in Holbeach, England
  • 1956-09-24 Ilona Slupianek, German shot-putter (Olympic gold 1980), born in Demmin, East Germany
  • 1957-01-01 Vladimir Kiselyov, Ukranian-Soviet athlete (Olympic gold, 1980- shot put), born in Myski, USSR (d. 2021)
  • 1960-10-29 Michael Carter, American football nose tackle (Super Bowl 1984, 88, 89; Pro Bowl 1985, 87, 88; First-team All-Pro 1986, 87, 88; SF 49ers) and athlete (Olympic silver shot put 1984), born in Dallas, Texas
  • 1961-06-01 Werner Günthör, Swiss athlete (World C'ship gold, shot put 1987, 91, 93; Olympic bronze 1988), born in Uttwil, Switzerland
  • 1961-11-10 Ramona Pagel, American shot putter, born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1962-01-27 James F Doehring, shot putter (Olympic silver 1992), born in Santa Barbara, California
  • 1966-06-16 Randy Barnes, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1996; WR 23.12m), born in Charleston, West Virginia
  • 1967-12-29 Kevin Toth, American shot put athlete, born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1969-06-13 Svetlana Krivelyova, Russian shot put athlete (Olympic gold 1992), born in Bryansk, Russia
  • 1972-05-31 John Godina, American shot putter (World C'ship gold 1995, 97, 01; Olympic silver 1996), born in Fort Still, Oklahoma

Deaths in Sport

  • 1970-08-12 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), dies at 68
  • 1985-03-29 Gerhard Stöck, German athlete (Olympic gold javelin, bronze shot put 1936), dies at 73
  • 1994-10-01 Bud Houser, American field athlete (Olympic gold discus & shot put 1924, discus 1928), dies at 93
  • 1998-08-17 Wladyslaw Komar, Polish athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1972) and actor, dies in a car crash at 58
  • 2001-10-17 Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete (Olympic gold shot put, discus; bronze high jump 1948), dies at 78
  • 2007-04-21 Parry O'Brien, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1952, 1956; silver 1960), dies of a heart attack during a swimming competition at 75
  • 2017-03-26 Brian Oldfield, American shot-putter (credited with making rotational technique popular), dies at 71
  • 2021-01-07 Vladimir Kiselyov, Ukranian-Soviet athlete (Olympic gold, 1980- shot put), dies at 64
  • 2021-01-26 Margitta Gummel-Helmbold, German track & field athlete (Olympic gold GDR women's shot put 1968), dies at 79
  • 2021-04-26 Tamara Press, Soviet athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, 64; discus 1960, 64), dies at 83
  • 2022-02-24 Ivanka Khristova, Bulgarian athlete (Olympic gold women's shot put 1976), dies at 80
  • 2022-10-07 Bill Nieder, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, silver 1956), dies at 89

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