Shot put at the Olympics

Shot put at the Olympic Games
The inaugural shot put in 1896
Overview
Sport	Athletics
Gender	Men and women
Years held	Men: 1896 – 2012 Women: 1948 – 2012
Olympic record
Men	22.52 m Ryan Crouser (2016)
Women	22.41 m Ilona Slupianek (1980)
Reigning champion
Men	Ryan Crouser (USA)
Women	Michelle Carter (USA)

The shot put at the Summer Olympics is one of four track and field throwing events held at the multi-sport event. The men's shot put has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896 (one of two throws events at the first Olympics, alongside the discus). The women's event was added to the programme at the 1948 Olympics just over fifty years later.

The Olympic record for the women's event was set by the East German athlete Ilona Slupianek with a put of 22.41 m (73 ft 6 ¹⁄₄ in) in 1980, and the record for the men's event of 22.52 m (73 ft 10 ¹⁄₂ in) was set by the American Ryan Crouser in 2016.

Two variations on the event have been contested at the Olympics: a two-handed competition at the , with athletes using both left and right arm putting techniques, and a stone throw at the 1906 Intercalated Games.

The 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens and at the time were officially recognised as part of the Olympic Games series, with the intention being to hold a games in Greece in two-year intervals between the internationally held Olympics. However, this plan never came to fruition and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later decided not to recognise these games as part of the official Olympic series. Some sports historians continue to treat the results of these games as part of the Olympic canon.

At this event a men's shot put was held and Martin Sheridan of the United States won the competition. Hungary's Mihály Dávid was the runner-up while Swedish thrower Eric Lemming was the bronze medalist.