There are the four throwing events for athletes at an Olympic Games.
Discus, hammer throw, javelin and shot put.
Men and women compete in these events
The four throwing events at an Olympic Games are: discus, hammer throw, javelin and shot put.
Originally a discuss was made from stone, later the discus was made of bronze, iron or lead. The modern discus has a metal core and rim, the sides are plastic.© iStock
In the discus the athlete stands inside a throwing circle, turns around one and a half times and throws the discus as far as he or she can. A discus is a round plate made of wood and metal. Discus was an event in the ancient Olympic Games.
The men's discus is a heavy disc with a weight of 2 kilograms and diameter of 22 centimetres the women's discus has a weight of one kilogram and diameter of 18 centimetres
Hammer throw
In the hammer throw the athlete stands inside a throwing circle, swings the hammer and at the same time spins his or her body before throwing the hammer as far as he or she can. The hammer is a metal ball on a steel wire with a handle.
Men's hammer throw has been part of the Olympics since 1900. Women competed in the hammer throw for the first time at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 .
The men's hammer weighs 7.26 kg and measures 121.3 cm in length, and the women's hammer weighs 4 kg and 119.4 cm in length. The winner is the athlete who can throw the hammer the farthest.
Hammer throw was NOT a sport at the Ancient Games.
Javelin
In the javelin, athletes sprint down a runway holding a javelin then throw the javelin from over their shoulder. At the end of the runway there is a line and the judge measures the distance from this line to where the javelin lands. A javelin is a metal or wooden spear nearly 3 metres long with a steel tip.
The shot put is not really thrown. It is pushed up and out by the athlete.©iStock
Shot put
In shot put the athlete stands inside a circle, holding the shot and resting it against his or her shoulder. Then the athlete hops, crouches and then jumps up and pushes the shot into the air. The judge measures the distance from the circle to where the shot lands. A shot is a metal ball. Originally a cannon ball was used.
The men's shot weighs 7.260 kilograms, and the women's shot weighs 4 kilograms.
The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since 1896, and women's competition began in 1948.
Watch here to see Olympic throwing events and here the rules of throwing events
Olympic throwing events
