Discus Throw Rules

Track and field events, needless to say need a lot of strength and endurance. There are many events under the umbrella of track and field events in the Olympics and otherwise. One of them is the discus throw. I am positive that many of you must have seen the athletes throw that unbelievably heavy discus out of that cage. The objective of the athletes is to throw the discus farther than his or her opponents. Interestingly enough, this 'so very modern' sporting even has its genesis in a 5th century BC game Discobolus. Thankfully, we are not going to deal with that relic of a subject. We are going to take a look at some basic discus throw rules. Here's throwing you a disc of words about that!

Rules of Discus Throwing

Discus: To begin with, the body of the discus could be made either of wood or other suitable material, having a circular edge with a metal rim. In addition to this, it could solid or hollow. It should weigh around 2 kg and have a diameter of 22 cm (for men). For women the weight is 1 kg and the diameter is 18 cm. The cross section of the edge should have a radius of 6mm and it should be a proper circle. The sides of the discuss shall be identical, sans any sharp edges, irregularities and protrusion. The sides should taper in a straight line from the point where the curve of the rim starts to a circle which has a radius of 25 mm to 28.5 mm, from the mid point of the discus. Finally, the finishing of the discus has to be smooth.

Discus Cage: The cage or the enclosure should be prepared and maintained in a way so that it can arrest the flight of a discus weighing 2 kg at a speed of around 25 meters per second. Further, there should be no threat to the athlete, of the discus ricocheting or rebounding towards him or her. The shape of the cage according to the rules has to be a 'U'. The width of the mouth of the cage has to be 6mtrs and around 7mtrs in front of the middle of the throwing circle. The end points of this mouth would serve as the inner edge of the cage netting. Now the height of the netting panels or draped netting at the lowest point has to be a minimum 4mtrs. This netting can be made from natural or synthetic fiber and also from mild or high tensile steel wire. This is very important when it comes to discus throw rules.

The Throw: The discus can be thrown by an athlete after he or she stands in a circle which has a diameter of 2.5 meter. While the athletes attempt the throw, they cannot touch the top of the rim. However, they can touch the inner part of the rim of the circle during the throw. An athlete is not permitted to touch the ground outside the stipulated circle during the throw. Furthermore, prior to the disk hitting the ground, the athlete cannot go out of the circle. If he or she does that, it is considered as a foul when it comes to rules and regulations of the discus throw. In Olympics, each of the athletes is given 8 chances to throw and the best of them is recorded to determine the result. Another important point is that if the disc ends up outside the landing area, the throw would not be held valid.

For more on track and field rules, check out track and field rules- general rules about track and field.

These were the primary discus throw rules, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The IAAF has complete authority to determine the rules of discus throw and is the governing body for discus throwing. It even has the authority to decide the weight and shape of the discus.

That was it! Here is where I put an end to the discus'sion about the discus! I sign off here!