Discus Throwing

DISCUS THROWING. The art of throwing from a circle 8f t. 2 tin. diameter to the greatest distance, and so that it falls within a 9o° sector marked on the ground, an implement weighing 4 lb. 6.4 oz. known as a discus. The sport was common in the days of Homer, who mentions it repeatedly. It formed part of the pentathlon, or quintuple games, in the ancient Olympic games and is fully described by Statius (Thebais, 646-721). Judging by specimens found by excavators, the ancient discus was a circular plate of stone, later of metal, some Bin. or 9in. in diameter, and weighed from 4 lb. to 5 lb., although one of bronze, prob ably a trophy, preserved in the British Museum weighs over 8 pounds. To the Greeks discus throwing was a splendid builder-up.

Throwing the discus was introduced as an event in modern athletics at the revived Olympic games first held at Athens in 1896, and in the same year was instituted as a Swedish champion ship. The Olympic victor at Athens was Garrett, U.S.A., 95ft. and the first Swedish champion, Helgesson, 97ft. 51in. Since then throwing the discus has become a recognized event in the athletic championship meetings of all nations. America adopted the event in 1897, champion C. H. Henneman, 118ft. 9in., and England in 1911, champion W. E. B. Henderson, 1 o6f t. I Since the war the records have improved considerably. World's record, Willi Schroder, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany, April 28, 22in.; Olympic record, Kenneth Carpenter, U.S.A., Berlin, Germany, August 5, 1936, 165ft. 5.39in.; U.S.A. record, Paul Jessup, Pittsburgh, Pa., August 23, 1930, i6oft. 8in.; Eng lish record, D. R. Bell, Achilles Club, 1936, 142ft. 1o2in. The re cent advance in records is due to an increasing number of competi tors employing improved technique. The Olympic contests which set the world's standard and enable us to trace the progress that has been made, have resulted as follow :-1896, Garrett (U.S.A.), 95ft. 72in.; 1900, Bauer (Hungary), 118ft. 2A-in.; 1904, M. Sheridan (U.S.A.), 128ft. Io2in.; 1908, M. Sheridan (U.S.A.), 134ft. 2in.; 1912, A. R. Taipale (Finland), 148ft. 'in.; 1920, E. Nicklander (Finland), 146ft. 1924, C. Houser (U.S.A.), 51 ft. 1928, C. Houser (U.S.A.), 155ft. 3in., 1932, J. Anderson (U.S.A.), 162ft. 4 in.; 1936, Kenneth Carpenter (U.S.A.), 165ft. 5.39in.

A great deal of discussion has taken place as to the method of throwing the discus employed by the ancient Greeks. Theories have been based upon the description of the sport as given by Statius and upon a reconstruction of Myron's statue of a discus thrower (discobolos) which may be seen in the British Museum. This statue portrays the thrower in the act of hurling the missile, and Norman Gardiner holds that a wrong attitude has been adopted by the restorer. Dr. R. Tait McKenzie calls the "Greek style," insisted upon at the first modern Olympic games, "absurd and ridiculous," and says it "could never have been in use among the ancient Greeks" (see Exercise in Education and Medicine, 1924). F. A. M. Webster (see Athletics of To-Day), however, con tends that the reconstruction is substantially correct and that the discus thrower is correctly posed in the attitude from which commences the turning movement that precedes the delivery of the missile in all modern forms of discus throwing.

The so-called "Greek style" of discus throwing was included at the Athenian Celebration, 1906 (Jaervinen, Finland, I I 5ft. 4in.), and at the London Olympiad, 1908 (Sheridan, U.S.A., I24ft. 8in.), but without any great success, so that the event has since been abandoned. In the Greek style the thrower places himself upon an inclined pedestal, stretches the arms above the head with the discus held between the hands. He then turns the trunk to the right, bends the body at the waist, allows the right hand holding the discus to swing up behind and places the left hand on the right knee, as in Myron's Discobolos. From this position the thrower straightens out his body, hurls the discus forward and leaves the pedestal in the instant of making the throw.

The modern style, which has now entirely superseded the Greek style, provides a more graceful and a more natural series of movements. The essence of this style is that the discus must be slung out and not really thrown at all ; the athlete's difficulty lies in controlling an implement which can be retained under and against the hand and wrist only by centrifugal force and such slight pressure as the tips of the fingers are able to exert.

The discus, as used in modern competitions, is composed of a smooth metal rim, permanently attached to a wood body, brass plates set flush into the sides of the wood body, and, in the exact centre of the discus, a means for securing the correct weight, which must be not less than 4 lb. 6.4 oz. The brass plates, cir cular in form, may not be less than tin. nor more than 24in. in diameter. The sides taper in a straight line from the beginning of the curve of the rim to a line at a distance of 'in. from the centre of the discus. The largest dimension comprises a circle not less than On., the thickness through the centre is not less than '4in., and +in. from the edge, not less than fin.

Method of Throwing the

Discus.—Preparatory to making a throw the athlete holds the discus in the right (best) hand so that the edge rests against the joints of the fingers nearest to the tips. He takes up his position in the rear half of an 8ft. 2 2in. circle with the feet about i8in. apart and his left side turned in the direction in which the throw is to be made. The discus is swung up above the head, where it is met and supported by the fingers of the left hand. The right arm next swings back until it reaches a point behind and higher than the right shoulder. From this position, after two or three preliminary swings have been made and the right hand is at its highest point, the athlete com mences a 14 turn in a kind of dancing time with the right arm hanging loosely down. The first pivotal movement is upon the left foot ; when a half turn has been made the weight is trans ferred to the right foot, upon which the turning movement con tinues. As the left foot again takes the ground, at the front edge of the circle, the right leg begins to push the body forward and there is a violent turn of the right shoulder, but the arm is still kept trailing behind and the actual throwing movement does not commence until the right arm is well off the right shoulder. The left leg forms a point of resistance as the throw is made and the discus departs through the air mounting upwards but flying gyro scopically flat. It is a curious phenomenon that a well-thrown discus will mount tilted to the right until it reaches the highest point in the trajectory, thereafter travelling perfectly flat for a short distance, before beginning to fall earthwards tilted to the left.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.-F. A. M. Webster, Athletes in Action (1931) ; Why Bibliography.-F. A. M. Webster, Athletes in Action (1931) ; Why —The Science of Athletics (1936) ; Webster and Heys, Exercises for Athletes (1932) ; Athletic Training for Men and Boys (1933) (F. A. M. W.)