Discus

History

The discus was started because of a story in the Iliad by Homer. Homer told the story of Achilles offering a very valuable iron ingot to the man who could throw it the farthest. An ingot is very similar to a discus in shape, it was formed by pouring the metal into an open circular mold formed out of sand(Swaddling 50).

The Equipment

There have been about 20 ancient discuses found today. They are mostly bronze with a few marble and lead specimens. "They vary in diameter from about 17 to 35 centimeters with an average thickness of 1.5 centimeters"(Swaddling 50). The weight of ancient discuses is very similar to modern day discuses being 2.5 kilograms.

Method

Very little is known about the ancient method of throwing discus. We do know however, unlike modern discus throwing, the athletes didn't make more than a 3/4 turn for momentum. Modern discus throwers turn 2.5 times.

Modern Example

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