As some readers may already know, I used to hurl the shot put great distances on a regular basis…for fun.  I did this throughout high school and college.  Seeing that it has now evolved into a Bog Olympics event, I thought that I would share my own personal knowledge and experience and also information that I have found that would be useful for shot put novices who are already looking ahead to next Pennsic’s Bog Olympics.

The shot put has its origins in the Celtic games.  It was not originally held in the ancient Greek Olympics, as opposed to the discus and the javelin.  As the modern day Olympics evolved, the shot was refined from a stone put.  They actually used to put a round stone!  The current shot weighs 16 pounds for men  (8.8 pounds for women) and is made of solid iron or brass.  It is put from a circle 7 feet in diameter.  The shot is put with one hand and must be held near the shin to start.  It may not drop below or behind the shoulder level at any time.  There are 2 styles to throwing the shot put, the spin and the glide.  The spin technique is harder to master and is more commonly used for the discus throw.  Thus, I will discuss the glide technique for those who are interested in mastering this event.

In this technique, the thrower accelerates his body from the back to the front of the circle as depicted in positions 1-4.  As the thrower lands in the middle position, the legs drive forward and up and the hips and torso rotate to the front of the circle (position 5). Simultaneously, the throwing arm further accelerates the shot as it pushes away from the body (positions 8 and 9). The optimum angle for release for the shot put is roughly 40 degrees.

I hope that readers have found this useful.   I want you to practice every day from now until Pennsic where I will critique your technique…and kick all y’alls butts as my shot is put all the way from the Bog to the parking lot!  Chao!

  This information was provided by Marco Steybe, Encyclopedia Britannica ,Tony Dziepak and my own personal awesomeness.