Discus Throw, Men
| Date | 21 – 22 August 1920 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympisch Stadion, Antwerpen |
| Participants | 17 from 8 countries |
The recognized world record in 1920 was 47.58, set by Jim Duncan (USA) in 1912. But in July and August 1913, Armas Taipale had twice bettered that distance, posting marks of 47.85 and 48.27 respectively, but the IAAF did not recognize either mark as a world record.
All of the leaders posted their best throws in the qualifying. In the finals, only Kenneth Bartlett improved his qualifying mark. Elmer Niklander defeated his compatriot and the world record holder, Armas Taipale. Four days earlier, Niklander had finished second in the shot put. Niklander had briefly held the world record in the discus, breaking the mark of the renowned Martin Sheridan from 1911. In addition to his gold medal, Niklander was also awarded possession of the Challenge Prize donated by Madame de Montgomery.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Qualifying | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 274 | Elmer Niklander |  FIN | 44.685 (1) | 44.685 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 258 | Armas Taipale | FIN | 44.190 (2) | 44.190 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 222 | Gus Pope |  USA | 42.130 (3) | 42.130 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 630 | Oscar Zallhagen |  SWE | 40.160 (5) | 41.070 (4) | |||
| 5 | 133 | Kenneth Bartlett | USA | 40.875 (4) | 40.875 (5) | |||
| 6 | 577 | Allan Eriksson | SWE | 39.410 (6) | 39.410 (6) | |||
| 7 r1/2 | 96 | Valther Jensen |  DEN | 38.230 (7) | – | |||
| 8 r1/2 | 280 | Ville Pörhölä | FIN | 38.190 (8) | – | |||
| 9 r1/2 | 485 | Aurelio Lenzi |  ITA | 37.750 (9) | – | |||
| 10 r1/2 | 252 | Kenneth Wilson | USA | 37.580 (10) | – | |||
| 11 r1/2 | 373 | André Tison |  FRA | 37.350 (11) | – | |||
| 12 r1/2 | 273 | Jonni Myyrä | FIN | 37.000 (12) | – | |||
| 13 r1/2 | 653 | František Hoplíček |  TCH | 36.750 (13) | – | |||
| 14 r1/2 | 323 | Émile Écuyer | FRA | 36.100 (14) | – | |||
| 15 r1/2 | 361 | Daniel Pierre | FRA | 35.530 (15) | – | |||
| 16 r1/2 | 13 | Arthur De Laender |  BEL | 32.000 (16) | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 580 | Hans Granfelt | SWE | – ( | – | |||
| 360 | Raoul Paoli | FRA | – | – | ||||
| 684 | Harald Tammer |  EST | – ( | – | ||||
| 682 | Aleksander Klumberg | EST | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Fausto Acke | SWE | – ( | – | ||||
| 633 | Luigi Antognini |  SUI | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Bernard Guggenheim | SUI | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Roy Evans | USA | – ( | – | ||||
| 378 | Howard Baker |  GBR | – ( | – | ||||
| 119 | Ignacio Izaguirre |  ESP | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Ventura Elizondo | ESP | – ( | – | ||||
| 525 | Nicolas Kanive |  LUX | – ( | – | ||||
| 528 | Alex Servais | LUX | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Josef Kopecký | TCH | – ( | – | ||||
| – | Georgios Reveliotis |  GRE | – ( | – | ||||
| 68 | Gustave Wuyts | BEL | – ( | – |
Qualifying Round (21 August 1920 — 15:45)
Top six finishers advanced to the final.
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Distance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elmer Niklander | FIN | 44.685 | |||
| 2 | Armas Taipale | FIN | 44.190 | |||
| 3 | Gus Pope | USA | 42.130 | |||
| 4 | Kenneth Bartlett | USA | 40.875 | |||
| 5 | Oscar Zallhagen | SWE | 40.160 | |||
| 6 | Allan Eriksson | SWE | 39.410 | |||
| 7 | Valther Jensen | DEN | 38.230 | |||
| 8 | Ville Pörhölä | FIN | 38.190 | |||
| 9 | Aurelio Lenzi | ITA | 37.750 | |||
| 10 | Kenneth Wilson | USA | 37.580 | |||
| 11 | André Tison | FRA | 37.350 | |||
| 12 | Jonni Myyrä | FIN | 37.000 | |||
| 13 | František Hoplíček | TCH | 36.750 | |||
| 14 | Émile Écuyer | FRA | 36.100 | |||
| 15 | Daniel Pierre | FRA | 35.530 | |||
| 16 | Arthur De Laender | BEL | 32.000 | |||
| Hans Granfelt | SWE | – | ||||
| Harald Tammer | EST | – | ||||
| Aleksander Klumberg | EST | – | ||||
| Fausto Acke | SWE | – | ||||
| Luigi Antognini | SUI | – | ||||
| Bernard Guggenheim | SUI | – | ||||
| Roy Evans | USA | – | ||||
| Howard Baker | GBR | – | ||||
| Ignacio Izaguirre | ESP | – | ||||
| Ventura Elizondo | ESP | – | ||||
| Nicolas Kanive | LUX | – | ||||
| Alex Servais | LUX | – | ||||
| Josef Kopecký | TCH | – | ||||
| Georgios Reveliotis | GRE | – | ||||
| Arthur De Laender | BEL | – | ||||
| Gustave Wuyts | BEL | – |
Final Round (22 August 1920 — 10:00)
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Distance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elmer Niklander | FIN | 44.685 | |||
| 2 | Armas Taipale | FIN | 44.190 | |||
| 3 | Gus Pope | USA | 42.130 | |||
| 4 | Oscar Zallhagen | SWE | 41.070 | |||
| 5 | Kenneth Bartlett | USA | 40.875 | |||
| 6 | Allan Eriksson | SWE | 39.410 |