The discus throw at the World Championships in Athletics has been contested by both men and women since the inaugural edition in 1983. The competition format typically has one qualifying round contested by two groups of athletes, with all those clearing the qualifying height or placing in top twelve overall advancing to the final round.
| Discus throw at the World Athletics Championships | |
|---|---|
 Three-time men's discus throw champion Robert Harting | |
| Overview | |
| Gender | Men and women |
| Years held | Men: 1983 – 2023 Women: 1983 – 2023 |
| Championship record | |
| Men | 71.46 m Daniel Ståhl (2023) |
| Women | 71.62 m Martina Hellmann (1987) |
| Reigning champion | |
| Men |  Daniel Ståhl (SWE) |
| Women |  Laulauga Tausaga (USA) |
Germany is the most successful nation in the event, with a total of 22 medals, 11 of them gold. Additionally, East Germany won 4 medals (including 3 golds) between 1983 and 1987. Cuba is the second-most successful nation, with 9 medals total, 2 of them gold. 7 of these medals were won by women. They could be seen as a counterpart to Lithuania, as all of their 8 medals in the event were won by men.
Lars Riedel is the most successful athlete in the event, winning 5 gold medals and one bronze medal between 1991 and 2001. His 5 gold medals are the second-most for any athlete in a single individual event, a feat only bettered by Sergey Bubka in the pole vault. Franka Dietzsch is the most successful woman in the event, with three gold medals. Robert Harting is the only other athlete that has won more than two gold medals in the event. Sandra Perković is the most decorated female athlete, with 5 medals in total.
The championship records for the event are 71.46 m for men, set by Daniel Ståhl in 2023, and 71.62 m for women, set by Martina Hellmann in 1987.
Age records
edit- All information from World Athletics.[1]
| Distinction | Male | Female | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Age | Date | Athlete | Age | Date | |
| Youngest champion |  Kristjan Čeh (SLO)
|
23 years, 152 days | 19 Jul 2022 |  Dani Samuels (AUS)
|
21 years, 87 days | 21 Aug 2009 |
| Youngest medalist |  Mykolas Alekna (LIT)
|
19 years, 304 days | 19 Jul 2022 | Dani Samuels (AUS)
|
21 years, 87 days | 21 Aug 2009 |
| Youngest finalist | Mykolas Alekna (LIT)
|
19 years, 304 days | 19 Jul 2022 |  Ilke Wyludda (GDR)
|
18 years, 156 days | 31 Aug 1987 |
| Youngest participant |  Robert McNabb (COK)
|
18 years, 232 days | 8 Aug 1997 | Siniva Marsters (COK)
|
16 years, 304 days | 7 Aug 1997 |
| Oldest champion |  Lars Riedel (GER)
|
34 years, 41 days | 8 Aug 2001 |  Ellina Zvereva (BLR)
|
40 years, 268 days | 11 Aug 2001 |
| Oldest medalist | John Powell (USA)
|
40 years, 71 days | 4 Sep 1987 | Ellina Zvereva (BLR)
|
40 years, 268 days | 11 Aug 2001 |
| Oldest finalist | John Powell (USA)
|
40 years, 71 days | 4 Sep 1987 |  Mélina Robert-Michon (FRA)
|
44 years, 35 days | 22 Aug 2023 |
| Oldest participant | Virgilijus Alekna (LIT)
|
41 years, 180 days | 12 Aug 2013 | Ellina Zvereva (BLR)
|
48 years, 276 days | 19 Aug 2009 |
Medalists
editMen
edit
Multiple medalists
edit| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lars Riedel | Germany (GER) |
1991–2001 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Robert Harting | Germany (GER) |
2007–2013 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Virgilijus Alekna | Lithuania (LTU) |
1997–2005 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Daniel Ståhl | Sweden (SWE) |
2017–2023 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Gerd Kanter |  Estonia (EST) |
2005–2013 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | Piotr Małachowski |  Poland (POL) |
2009–2015 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Jürgen Schult | Germany (GER) |
1987–1997 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | Kristjan Čeh | Slovenia (SLO)
|
2022-2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Andrius Gudžius | Lithuania (LTU)
|
2017-2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Luis Delís |  Cuba (CUB) |
1983–1987 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mykolas Alekna | Lithuania (LTU)
|
2022-2023 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 | Vasiliy Kaptyukh | Belarus (BLR) |
1995–2003 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Michael Möllenbeck | Germany (GER) |
2001–2005 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medals by country
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany (GER) |
8 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | Lithuania (LTU) |
3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Sweden (SWE)
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Estonia (EST) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Poland (POL) |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | United States (USA) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Slovenia (SLO) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | East Germany (GDR) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Belarus (BLR) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Cuba (CUB) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Hungary (HUN)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Netherlands (NED)
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Belgium (BEL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Iran (IRI)
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Jamaica (JAM)
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Russia (RUS)
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 |  Austria (AUT)
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
edit
Multiple medalists
edit| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Period | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franka Dietzsch | Germany (GER) |
1999–2007 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Sandra Perković |  Croatia (CRO) |
2013–2022 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Ellina Zvereva | Belarus (BLR) |
1995–2001 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Martina Hellmann | East Germany (GDR) |
1983–1987 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Dani Stevens | Australia (AUS)
|
2009-2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Denia Caballero | Cuba (CUB)
|
2015-2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 7 | Tsvetanka Khristova |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
1987–1991 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Olga Chernyavskaya | Russia (RUS) |
1993–1995 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Feng Bin |  China (CHN)
|
2022-2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 | Yarelis Barrios | Cuba (CUB) |
2007–2013 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | Anastasia Kelesidou |  Greece (GRE) |
1999–2001 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Ilke Wyludda | Germany (GER) |
1991–1995 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Nicoleta Grasu |  Romania (ROU) |
1999–2009 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Natalya Sadova | Russia (RUS) |
1997–2005 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Nadine Müller | Germany (GER) |
2011–2015 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mélina Robert-Michon | France (FRA)
|
2013-2017 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Valarie Allman | United States (USA)
|
2022-2023 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medals by country
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany (GER) |
3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Belarus (BLR) |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Cuba (CUB) |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | Croatia (CRO) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | East Germany (GDR) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | China (CHN)
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Australia (AUS) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Russia (RUS) |
1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | United States (USA)
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Bulgaria (BUL) |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 |  New Zealand (NZL) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Greece (GRE) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 13 | Romania (ROU) |
0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | France (FRA) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Czech Republic (CZE) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Championship record progression
editMen
edit| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64.20 m | Lius Delís | Cuba (CUB)
|
1983 | Qualification | 1983-08-13 |
| 65.00 m | Imrich Bugar | Czechoslovakia (TCH)
|
1983 | Qualification | 1983-08-13 |
| 67.48 m | Imrich Bugar | Czechoslovakia (TCH)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-14 |
| 67.72 m | Imrich Bugar | Czechoslovakia (TCH)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-14 |
| 68.74 m | Jürgen Schult | East Germany (GDR)
|
1987 | Final | 1987-09-04 |
| 68.76 m | Lars Riedel | Germany (GER)
|
1995 | Final | 1995-08-11 |
| 69.08 m | Anthony Washington | United States (USA)
|
1999 | Final | 1999-08-24 |
| 69.72 m | Lars Riedel | Germany (GER)
|
2001 | Final | 2001-08-08 |
| 70.17 m | Virgilijus Alekna | Lithuania (LTU)
|
2005 | Final | 2005-08-07 |
| 71.13 m | Kristjan Čeh | Slovenia (SLO)
|
2022 | Final | 2022-07-19 |
| 71.46 m | Daniel Ståhl | Sweden (SWE)
|
2023 | Final | 2023-08-21 |
Women
edit| Time | Athlete | Nation | Year | Round | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65.84 m | Maria Petkova | Bulgaria (BUL)
|
1983 | Qualification | 1983-08-09 |
| 66.42 m | Martina Hellmann | East Germany (GDR)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-10 |
| 66.44 m | Maria Petkova | Bulgaria (BUL)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-10 |
| 67.76 m | Martina Hellmann | East Germany (GDR)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-10 |
| 68.74 m | Martina Hellmann | East Germany (GDR)
|
1983 | Final | 1983-08-10 |
| 71.62 m | Martina Hellmann | East Germany (GDR)
|
1987 | Final | 1987-08-31 |
Best performances
editTop ten furthest World Championship throws1
edit
|
|
1Does not include ancillary marks.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "World Athletics Championships - Budapest 23 Statistical Booklet" (PDF). www.worldathletics.org: 42–45.
- ^ Main > Men's discus throw > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2024-10-08.
- ^ Main > Women's discus throw > World Championships Records Progression. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2024-10-08.
- ^ "Men's discus throw".
- ^ "Women's discus throw". Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Butler, Mark (2023). World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 Statistics Book. World Athletics.