Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put

The men's shot put was a track & field athletics event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was held on July 14 and July 15, 1900. 11 shot putters from five nations competed.[1] The event was won by Richard Sheldon of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's shot put. Josiah McCracken took silver and Robert Garrett took bronze (the first man to win two medals in the event, after gold in 1896), completing an American medal sweep.

Men's shot put
at the Games of the II Olympiad
Richard Sheldon
VenueBois de Boulogne
DatesJuly 14 (qualifying)
July 15 (final)
Competitors11 from 5 nations
Winning distance14.10 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Richard Sheldon
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Josiah McCracken
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Robert Garrett
 United States
← 1896
1904 →

The winning margin was 1.25 metres. As of 2023, this is the only time the men's shot put has been won by more than one metre at the Olympics.

Background

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This was the second appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Defending champion Robert Garrett was the only returning shot putter from 1896. Sotirios Versis had competed in the discus in 1896, but had not competed in the shot put then. Richard Sheldon was the 1896 IC4A and 1899 AAU champion (doubling in the discus in the latter competition). World record holder George Gray was not present.[2]

Hungary and Sweden each made their debut in the men's shot put. Denmark, Greece, and the United States all appeared for the second time.

Competition format

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Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos putting the shot

There were two rounds of throwing, with results carried over from qualifying to the final. The format of the competition is unclear; it appears that each thrower received three throws and the finalists received three more. The top five throwers in the qualifying round qualified for the final.[2] The throwing stage was a 2.13 metre square.

Records

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These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1900 Summer Olympics.

World record   George Gray (CAN)* 14.75 Ottawa, Canada 1 August 1898
Olympic record   Robert Garrett (USA) 11.22 Athens, Greece 7 April 1896

* unofficial

Richard Sheldon set a new Olympic record in the qualification with 13.80 metres and improved his mark in the final to 14.10 metres. All five of the finalists had beaten the old Olympic record in the qualifying round.

Schedule

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Date Time Round
Saturday, 14 July 1900 10:55 Qualifying
Sunday, 15 July 1900 14:25 Final

Results

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All throwers competed in the qualifier on July 14. Versis did not record a fair mark and it is not clear if he actually competed. The top five advanced to the final.

Qualifier marks were still valid in the final. McCracken and Garrett did not compete, as the final was held on July 15, a Sunday. No changes in position occurred during the final.

Rank Athlete Nation Distance Notes
Qualifier Final Best
  Richard Sheldon   United States 13.80 OR 14.10 OR 14.10 OR
  Josiah McCracken   United States 12.85 X 12.85
  Robert Garrett   United States 12.37 X 12.37
4 Rezső Crettier   Hungary 11.58 12.07 12.07
5 Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos   Greece 11.29 11.52 11.52
6 Gustaf Söderström   Sweden 11.18 Did not advance 11.18
7 Artúr Coray   Hungary 11.13 Did not advance 11.13
8 Truxtun Hare   United States 10.92 Did not advance 10.92
9 August Nilsson   Sweden 10.86 Did not advance 10.86
10 Charles Winckler   Denmark 10.76 Did not advance 10.76
Sotirios Versis   Greece No mark Did not advance No mark

References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's Shot Put". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Shot Put, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

Sources

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