Shot Put, Men

By 1956 defending champion Parry O’Brien had established himself as the greatest putter in the world. Between Olympics he had broken the world record 15 times, though not all were ratified. In May 1964 he had become the first putter over 60 feet when he threw 18.42 (60-5¼) in a UCLA-USC dual meet. He did it with a revolutionary new technique in which he began with his back to the front of the cirlc and did a 180° turn before releasing the shot. His 1956 gold medal was quite easy, as he had the five longest puts of the competition. American Bill Nieder won the silver medal over Czechoslovakia’s Jiří Škobla. Škobla’s father, Jaroslav, had also won an Olympic medal – a gold in 1932 heavyweight weightlifting.