I walk by an upscale furniture store with a statue of a discus thrower outside. He is probably from Greece where the first Olympic games started. It is hard to believe that those young men competed in all those games IN THE NUDE. According to Ann Beveridge’s Aug. 16, 2004 article “Olympics: They Used to Compete in the Nude” in the Daily Telegraph of Sydney, Australia, from the early 8th century BC, Olympic athletes competed in the nude.
There are indisputable records going back to Athenian philosopher Plato in the 5th century BC and even Homer's Iliad, as well as many explicit drawings that confirm it was common practice for all male track and field athletes to take part naked. This included the often dangerous sports of discus throwing, wrestling, boxing and horse racing without protective clothing. The only exception seems to have been for charioteers, who wore long white tunics.
The words gymnastics and gymnasium are based on the Greek adjective gymnos, which means lightly clad or naked. The only adornment on the athletes' bronzed, muscular torsos would have been the gleam of olive oil with which they ritually anointed themselves.
According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus — a writer in the 1st century BC — Greek athletes did not compete in the nude until the 15th Olympiad in 720 BC, more than 2,700 years ago. That was more than half a century after the birth of the first Olympic Games, which originated in Olympia, southern Greece, in 776 BC.
A Spartan runner named Acanthus was said to have set the fashion by appearing without the customary loincloth.
Two hundred years later the origin of this practice of nudity was attributed to another sprinter, Osippus, who won the one-stade — about 180 meters — foot race at the Olympics of 720 BC. It was said he realized that a naked man could run faster than one impeded by a loincloth.
In the 7th century AD, more than 1,300 years later, writer Isidore of Seville suggested that during a race in Athens, one of the runners had the bad luck to trip over his own loincloth when it slipped down. A magistrate in charge of the games ordered a new ruling that athletes should compete in the nude.
Of course, competing at the Olympic games in the nude is not looked upon with favor today — probably something to do with the Puritans. Anyway, the discus throw — also known as disc throw — is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc called a discus in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the 5th century BC Myron statue Discobolus. Although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.
History
The sport of throwing the discus traces back to it being an event in the original Olympic Games of Ancient Greece. The discus as a sport was resurrected in Magdeburg, Germany, by Christian Georg Kohlrausch and his students in the 1870s. Organized men's competition was resumed in the late 19th century and has been a part of the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first modern competition, the 1896 Summer Olympics.
Images of discus throwers figured prominently in advertising for early modern Games, such as fundraising stamps for the 1896 games, the main posters for the 1920 and 1948 Summer Olympics. Today the sport of discus is a routine part of modern track-and-field meets at all levels and retains a particularly iconic place in the Olympic Games.
The first modern athlete to throw the discus while rotating the whole body was František Janda-Suk from Bohemia — the present Czech Republic. He invented this technique when studying the position of the famous statue of Discobolus. After only one year of developing the technique, he earned a silver medal in the 1900 Olympics.
Women's competition began in the first decades of the 20th century. Following competition at national and regional levels, it was added to the Olympic program for the 1928 games.
Regulations
The event consists of throwing a lenticular disc of a certain weight or size depending on the competitor. Men and women throw different-sized discus with varying sizes of weights depending on age. The weight of the discus is either governed by the World Athletics for international or USA Track & Field for the United States.
U.S. Weights International Weights
Age Men Women Age Men Women
High School 1.6 kg 1 kg ≤17 1.5 kg 1 kg
Collegiate 2 kg 1 kg 18-19 1.75 kg 1 kg
Professional 2 kg 1 kg 20-49 2 kg 1 kg
Master’s (35-59) 1.5 kg 1 kg 50-59 1.5 kg 1 kg
Master’s (60-74) 1 kg 1 kg 60-74 1 kg 1 kg
Master’s (75+) 1 kg 0.75 kg 75+ 1 kg 0.75 kg
The typical discus has sides made of plastic, wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal with a metal rim and a metal core to attain the weight. The rim must be smooth, with no roughness or finger holds. A discus with more weight in the rim produces greater angular momentum for any given spin rate — and thus more stability — although it is more difficult to throw. However, a higher rim weight — if thrown correctly — can lead to a farther throw. In some competitions, a solid rubber discus is used.
To make a throw, the competitor starts in a circle of 2.5 meters or 8 feet 2 1⁄4 inches diameter, which is recessed in a concrete pad by 20 millimetres or 0.79 inches. The thrower typically takes an initial stance facing away from the direction of the throw. He then spins anticlockwise — for right-handers — around one and a half times through the circle to build momentum, then releases his throw. The discus must land within a 34.92-degree sector. The rules of competition for discus are virtually identical to those of shot put, except that the circle is larger, a stop board is not used and there are no form rules concerning how the discus is to be thrown.
The basic motion is a forehanded sidearm movement. The discus is spun off the index finger or the middle finger of the throwing hand. In flight the disc spins clockwise when viewed from above for a right-handed thrower, and anticlockwise for a left-handed thrower. As well as achieving maximum momentum in the discus on throwing, the discus' distance is also determined by the trajectory the thrower imparts, as well as the aerodynamic behavior of the discus. Generally, throws into a moderate headwind achieve the maximum distance. Also, a faster-spinning discus imparts greater gyroscopic stability. The technique of discus throwing is quite difficult to master and needs much experience to perfect, thus most top throwers are 30 years old or more.
Phases
The discus technique can be broken down into phases. The purpose is to transfer from the back to the front of the throwing circle while turning through one and a half circles. The speed of delivery is high, and speed is built up during the throw — slow to fast. Correct technique involves the buildup of torque, so that maximum force can be applied to the discus on delivery.
Initially, throwers take up their positions in the throwing circle, distributing their body weight evenly over both feet, which are roughly shoulder width apart. They crouch in order to adopt a more efficient posture to start from while also isometrically preloading their muscles; this will allow them to start faster and achieve a more powerful throw. They then begin the windup, which sets the tone for the entire throw; the rhythm of the windup and throw is very important.
Focusing on rhythm can bring about the consistency to get in the right positions that many throwers lack. Executing a sound discus throw with solid technique requires perfect balance. This is due to the throw being a linear movement combined with a one and a half rotation and an implement at the end of one arm. Thus, a good discus thrower needs to maintain balance within the circle.
Ilke Wyludda 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
For a right-handed thrower, the next stage is to move the weight over the left foot. From this position the right foot is raised, and the athlete “runs” across the circle. There are various techniques for this stage where the leg swings out to a small or great extent; some athletes turn on their left heel — e.g. Ilke Wyludda — but turning on the ball of the foot is far more common.
The aim is to land in the “power position;” the right foot should be in the center and the heel should not touch the ground at any point. The left foot should land very quickly after the right. Weight should be mostly over the back foot with as much torque as possible in the body — so the right arm is high and far back. This is very hard to achieve.
Virgilijus Alekna in 2005 World Championship Men’s Discus
The critical stage is the delivery of the discus; from this “power position,” the hips drive through hard and will be facing the direction of the throw on delivery. Athletes employ various techniques to control the endpoint and recover from the throw, such as fixing feet — to pretty much stop dead — or an active reverse spinning onto the left foot e.g., Virgilijus Alekna.
Sports scientist Richard Ganslen researched the “Aerodynamics of the Discus,” reporting the discus will stall at an angle of 29°.
Culture
The discus throw has been the subject of a number of well-known ancient Greek statues and Roman copies such as the Discobolus and Discophoros. The discus throw also appears repeatedly in ancient Greek mythology, featured as a means of manslaughter in the cases of Hyacinth, Crocus, Phocus and Acrisius, and as a named event in the funeral games of Patroclus.
Discus throwers have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Discus commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the obverse of the coin a modern athlete is seen in the foreground in a half-turned position, while in the background an ancient discus thrower has been captured in a lively bending motion, with the discus high above his head, creating a vivid representation of the sport.
United States
Under U.S. high school rules, if a discus hits the surrounding safety cage and is deflected into the sector, it is ruled a foul. In contrast, under International, World Masters Athletics, National Collegiate Athletic Association and USA Track & Field rules, it is ruled a legal throw. Additionally, under U.S. high school rules, distances thrown are rounded down to the nearest whole inch, rather than the nearest centimeter.
U.S. high school rules allow the use of a solid rubber discus; it is cheaper and easier to learn to throw — due to its more equal distribution of weight, as opposed to the heavy rim weight of the metal rim/core discus — but less durable. However, there are a vast variety of metal discuses to choose from. The weight is not always distributed into the rim of metal discuses as there are four categories that the discs are sold in; center-weighted, low-spin, high-spin and very high spin. Center-weighted discs carry 50-60% of their weight in the rims and are intended for beginner throwers just as rubber discs are.
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