Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The men's shot put field event at the 1972 Olympic Games took place on September 8 & 9. Twenty-nine athletes from 19 nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
Men's shot put at the Games of the XX Olympiad | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Olympic Stadium | |||||||||
Dates | September 8 & 9 | |||||||||
Competitors | 29 from 19 nations | |||||||||
Winning distance | 21.18 OR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The East German throwers were expected to pose a big challenge in these games, as well as the throwers from Poland. Brian Oldfield from the United States was the first person to use a new technique, a technique that is similar to the discus throwing style. The thrower uses a rotational spin before releasing the shot put.[2][3]
The event was won by Władysław Komar of Poland, the nation's first medal in the men's shot put. It was the first time since World War II that an American had not won; George Woods had the best result for the United States with silver. It was Woods' second consecutive silver, making him the eighth man to win two medals in the event. Hartmut Briesenick took bronze, East Germany's first medal in the shot put and the first medal for any German since Hans Woellke's 1936 win (the last time a non-American had won).