Shot Put - Overview
Shot Put is a sport where an athlete needs to exercise his throwing power with a heavy object. It is a track and field event. Men’s shot put is present since the inception of 1896’s Modern Olympics. Women made their debut in Shot Put in the Olympics of 1948.
Shot Put is played with a heavy spherical object popularly known as shot. The aim is to throw the shot-put as far as possible through a pushing action. It requires immense muscular strength and a good balance upon your body. In this tutorial, we will discuss the basic techniques and playing methods of Shot Put.
A Brief History of Shot Put
Historians depict that the first hint of this sport was seen in Scottish Highland during the first century. Homer, a great ancient Greek poet and the author of epic poems like lliad and Odyssey, had mentioned the competition of throwing stones by the soldiers during the siege of troy. However, in the middle ages, the glimpse of the modern shot put was noticed when the soldiers started competition by hurling cannonballs.
It was early 19th century, when this sport was actually started to be a part of the local competitions. In 1866, it was played as an event in British Amateur Championship. Now the rules of the shot put are governed by IAAF (International Association of Athletic Association) and WMA (World Masters Athletic).
Participating Countries
Shot Put comes under the track and field job event. Since its introduction to modern Olympics in 1896, the popularity of this sport grew exponentially in different nations. Many Asian and Non-Asian countries have their active participation in this sport. List of some of the major dominating Asian countries include China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, India, Kazakhstan, Korea etc. In 2014 Asian Games, Sultan Al-Hebshi of Saudi Arabia bagged the gold medal in men’s category and Sui Xinmei of China bagged gold medals in women’s category.
Similarly many non-Asian countries have shown their talents in events like Summer Olympics. Countries like, USA, Poland, Finland, Germany, Canada, etc. are dominating in the competitions. In 2012 Summer Olympics, Tomasz Majewski of Poland bagged the gold medal in men’s category while Valerie Adams of New Zealand bagged gold in women’s category.
