Useless Trivia

Discus

Hammer

- this throw never had utilitarian value like the javelin, but was always a game and beautiful to watch.

- dates back to the ancient Greeks.
      -they used a bronze disc between 2           and 6kg.
      -first appeared in the ancient games in       708 BC

- styles of throwing evolved from a standing throw to our current throw, introduced by Clarence Houser (USA) in 1926.

- the first women's results date back to 1914 with a disc weighing 1.25kg.  (The standard 1kg was not adopted until 1928)

- this event orignated with a rigid hammer (a wood handle with a cast-iron ball attached) that was thrown from a free style run.

- the wire replaced the wooden handle in 1887.

- first recorded women's marks date back to 1931.

- the IAAF began ratifying women's world records in 1995.

Javelin

Shot

- described by Homer during the siege of Troy.

- first competition for women held in France in 1917.

- the sidestep was invented in 1876 in the USA.

- Parry O'Brien (USA) pioneered the glide and helped him break the 18m barrier.

- the Greek hero Hercules is said to have been one of the first javelin throwers.

- originally made of olive wood.

- the Scandinavians adopted the event in 1780 and was seen as a national symbol if independence for the Finns.

- a rotational technique was once used but was banned in 1966 because it was too dangerous.

- first women's marks were recorded in 1916 in Finland.

- made its Olympic debut in 1948.