The men's shot put was one of two throwing events on the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Seven athletes took part in the shot put competition on 7 April. The two Greek athletes both won medals, with Gouskos battling closely with Garrett of the United States for the longest distance.[1]
| Men's shot put at the Games of the I Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Robert Garrett | ||||||||||
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | 7 April 1896 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 7 from 4 nations | |||||||||
| Winning distance | 11.22 OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Background
editThis was the first appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Fifteen athletes entered, but only seven started. The world record holder was George Gray of Canada, but he was absent; so too was 1896's best thrower, Irishman Denis Horgan. The event was "excessively popular in Greece" and was one of the events where the hosts had a real opportunity to win.[2][3][4]
Competition format
edit
There was a single round of throwing. The format of the competition is unclear; it appears that each thrower received three throws and the top four after that received three more. The Official Report, though, says that "Five Competitors retired after a little while, only ... Gouskos and Mr Garret kept up the sport for a considerable length of time."[2][3]
The throwing stage was a 2.13 metre square. George S. Robertson said that this square "corresponded with no known rules, although the event was purported to be held under English rules." Robertson attributed the short distances of the event to this oddity of the field.[2]
Records
editThese were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1896 Summer Olympics.
| World record |  George Gray (CAN)* |
14.32 | Chicago, United States | 16 September 1893 |
| Olympic record | N/A |
* unofficial
The following record was established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Athlete | Nation | Distance (m) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 7 | Final | Robert Garrett |  United States |
11.22 | OR |
Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gregorian | Julian | ||
| Tuesday, 7 April 1896 | Tuesday, 26 March 1896 | 15:40 | Final |
Results
editDetailed results are not known. The top three finishers, and their best throws, are clear; however, after that sources differ even as to who the competitors were. The IOC lists the seven competitors below, with rankings for the top four. The Official Report gives Garrett's winning distance as 11.22 metres, with Gouskos "a few centimetres" behind. The IOC webpage gives Gouskos's distance at 11.20 metres, while other sources give varying distances (Kluge agrees with 11.20, Olympedia has 11.03, zur Megede has 11.15). All agree on Papsideris's third-place distance at 10.36 metres. There are two entirely different sets of four competitors for 4th through 7th: the IOC and Olympedia have Jensen in 4th, with Clark, Hofmann, and Schuhmann also competing, while Kluge and zur Megede have Robertson, Adler, Sotirios Versis, and Winckler (all except Versis listed by Olympedia as entered but not starting) in order for 4th through 7th places. They have a 9.95 metre throw for Robertson listed. The IOC does not give a distance for any athlete after 3rd, but Olympedia has 10.00 metres for Scuhmann.[5][4][6][2]
While most of the throwing sequence is unknown, the two best throws are specifically recorded. Garrett's winning throw was his first throw. Gouskos's best, coming closest to Garrett's, was his last. The ultimate Gouskos throw was so close that the home nation crowd thought it good enough for a win, and the "official posting the scores made an error and initially listed Gouskos as the winner"; however, the error was corrected and Garrett announced as the winner.[2][3]
Olympedia lists 12 nonstarters, but states (consistent with the Official Report) that "seven of the 15 final entries actually started).[2][3]
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Robert Garrett | United States
|
11.22 | OR |
|
Miltiadis Gouskos |  Greece
|
11.20 | |
|
Georgios Papasideris | Greece
|
10.36 | |
| 4 | Viggo Jensen |  Denmark
|
Unknown | |
| 5—7 | Ellery Clark | United States
|
Unknown | |
| Carl Schuhmann |  Germany
|
10.00 | ||
| Fritz Hofmann | Germany
|
Unknown | ||
| — | Louis Adler |  France |
DNS | |
| Conrad Böcker | Germany |
DNS | ||
| Alfred Flatow | Germany |
DNS | ||
| Adolphe Grisel | France |
DNS | ||
| Holger Nielsen | Denmark |
DNS | ||
| Pál Péthy |  Hungary |
DNS | ||
| George S. Robertson |  Great Britain |
DNS | ||
| Momčilo Tapavica | Hungary |
DNS | ||
| Charles Vanoni | United States |
DNS | ||
| Desiderius Wein | Hungary |
DNS | ||
| Hermann Weingärtner | Germany |
DNS | ||
| Charles Winckler | Denmark |
DNS |
References
edit- ^ "Athletics at the 1896 Athens Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d Official Report, p. 69.
- ^ a b Ekkehard zur Megede (1970). Die Geschichte der olympischen Leichtathletik, Band 1: 1896–1936 (2nd ed.). Berlin: Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG.
- ^ Volker Kluge (1997). Olympische Sommerspiele – Die Chronik I. Berlin. ISBN 3-328-00715-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Shot Put Men". IOC. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
Sources
edit- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at la84foundation.org)
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at la84foundation.org)
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.