Discus Throw

Throw, throw, throw in discus throw.

• Discus is part of the sporting group, athletics.
• The aim of discus is to throw a weighted, lens shaped disc, a ‘discus’, as far as one can.
• Discus has been played in the modern Olympic Games since they started in 1896.
• A discus weighs between 1 to 2 kg (2.2 to 4.4 pounds), the weight depending on the age and gender of the athlete.
• A discus usually has a smooth metal rim and a metal core to give the disc its weight, and the material used on the outer sides can be made from plastic, metal, wood, fibreglass or other material, although sometimes solid rubber discs are used.

Discus
Image courtesy of Christopher Mitchell/Flickr

• The athlete must stand in a 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) diameter circle, and not step over it, and throw the discus as far as he or she can without going over the foul lines.
• The athlete usually spins in the throwing circle before they throw the discus, to build momentum for the throw.
• As of 2012, discus world records were both held by East Germans – Jürgen Schult (male), with 74.08 meters (243 feet) achieved in 1986, and Gabriele Reinsch (female), 76.8 meters (252 feet), in 1988.
• Discus was part of the Ancient Olympic Games’ pentathlon from as early as 708 BC.
• The athlete is not allowed to leave the throwing circle until the discus has landed, and is required to step out from the back half of the circle to avoid disqualification.

Bibliography:
Discus Throw, 2013, Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discus_throw>