https://pixabay.com/illustrations/shot-put-athletics-sports-3108408

The term “Shot put” comes from the Shot, which is a heavy metal ball that is “put” and not thrown forward while the goal is to achieve the greatest distance possible. The origin of this movement again dates back to the Ancient Greece and Homer, the poet, also mentioned rock throwing competitions by soldiers. The modern shot put came up probably in the Middle Ages where soldiers competed in cannonball throwing events. First Competitions took place in Scotland in early 19th century. For men it has been part of the Olympic program since 1896 and for women in 1948. For the shot put there is again a specific technique that should be looked at closer:

• First of all, grip and positioning are both crucial for attaining the maximum distance. The shot is held at the bottom, thumb and pinky finger are put on each side of the shot. Additionally, the shot has to touch an athlete’s neck or chin or be at least close to it. The elbow of arm that is putting should be kept high and the arm should be parallel to the floor. Furthermore, athletes are supposed to bend their knees and stand on the balls of their feet
• When it comes to putting, one can decide between two comment techniques: the spin and the glide. The “Oldfield Spin”, invented by Brian Oldfield, begins with the athlete facing away from the putting direction. As they begin to spin on their foot they rotate like a discus thrower and therefore use their generated momentum for power. For the glide, athletes stand in a fixed position while kicking one leg to the front and pushing with the other. Rotating their hips forward and pulling arms and shoulders back, competitors complete a rotation of 180 degrees in the whole course of the throw
• When releasing, the target is to release the shot with an angle of almost 45 degrees while achieving maximum forward velocity

The Shot

• In elite competitions there are weight standards for the shot for both men and women. For men, the weight is 7.26 kg and for women 4kg
• The Shot is typically made of different metals, mainly iron, steel and brass. Due to their different densities, the shot’s size varies depending on its composition
• Indoor shots are often wrapped with plastic or rubber in order to prevent damage while outdoor shots are made of steel.
  World Records
  For the men, the US has always been a dominating state when it comes to Shot Put in the Olympics. They won every Olympics except the 1920 and 193. The first ever World Record was set by Ralph Rose (US) in 1909 with a distance of 15.54 meters. The current record holder is Ryan Crouser from the USA with astonishing 23.56 meters in 2023. Looking at the women, Natalya Lisovskaya (URS)has been holding the record since 1987 with 22.63 meters. When analyzing previous results it becomes clear that over the years, female athletes from Germany and the Soviet Union have dominated this discipline.

https://worldathletics.org/disciplines/throws/shot-put
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_put#:~:text=The%20shot%20put%20is%20a%20track%20and%20field,revival%20%281896%29%2C%20and%20women%27s%20competition%20began%20in%201948.