The discus toss, commonly known as the discus throw, is a track and field sport in which an athlete throws a heavy disc called a discus in an effort to cover more ground than their opponents. Discus throw is a track and field event in which a disc-shaped device called a discus is hurled for space. The discus must be hurled from a circle 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in diameter and land inside a 40-degree sector outlined on the field from the circle’s center in modern sport.
10. John Powell – United States
Mark: 71.26m
John Powell is a discus thrower who competed for the United States in track and field. In 1975, he set a world record of 69.08 meters, and his personal best of 71.26 meters places him in a tie for the ninth position in the all-time best discus throw along with Rickard BRUCH.
Powell played in four Olympic Games with the United States. Powell was a part of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that did not participate in Russia due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. Powell placed fourth in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, earned a bronze medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and was a member of the 1980 U.S.
9. Ben Plucknett – United States
Mark: 71.32m
Ben Plucknett was a discus thrower who played for the United States. Plucknett was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, but owing to the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, he was unable to participate.
On July 7, 1981, he threw 72.34 meters, breaking the previous world mark. The International Association of Athletics Federations barred Plucknett from participating after he tested positive for anabolic steroid usage on July 13, 1981, and his records were broken.
8. Lars Riedel – Germany
Mark: 71.50m
Lars Riedel is a retired discus thrower from Germany. With a personal best of 71.50 meters, Riedel holds the mark for the seventh-longest discus throw in history. In the former German Democratic Republic, Riedel started his discus practice. He grew up in Thurm, a town near Zwickau.
7. Róbert Fazekas – Hungary
Mark: 71.70m
Róbert Fazekas is a discus thrower from Hungary who captured gold in the European Championships in 2002 and silver in the World Championships in 2003. He won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics but was later disqualified for failure to submit a substance check, and Virgilijus Alekna took his place.
6. Piotr Malachowski – Poland
Mark: 73.84m
Piotr Malachowski is a discus thrower from Polandrwho has earned silver medals in both the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics. His personal best throw of 71.84 meters, which places him fifth all-time in discus throw distances, was registered on June 8, 2013, in Hengelo, Netherlands.
5. Daniel Stahl – Sweden
Mark: 71.86m
Daniel Ståh,l a discus thrower from Sweden, is a world-class competitor. He finished fifth at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.
He played in the European Championships in 2016, finishing sixth. Ståhl set a new personal best and improved the Swedish mark set by Rickard Bruch in 1984 by three centimeters when he threw 71.29 meters in Sollentuna in June 2017.
4. Yuriy Dumchev – Russia
Mark: 71.86m
Yuriy Dumchev was a track and field athlete for Russia who set the world record in the men’s discus throw with a distance of 71.86 meters on May 29, 1983. He was born in the town of Rossosh.
3. Gerd Kanter – Estonia
Mark: 73.38m
Gerd Kanter is a former discus thrower from Estonia. He was the 2007 World Champion in the sport, winning gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
2. Virgilijus Alekna – Lithuania
Mark: 73.88
Virgilijus Alekna is a retired discus thrower and leader from Lithuania. He won medals in the Olympics in 2000, 2004, and 2008, including two golds.
His personal best is 73.88 meters (242 foot 412 inches), which is only exceeded by the world record (74.08). Alekna was elected to the Seimas, the national assembly, in 2016 after retirement from athletics.
1. Jürgen Schult – Germany
Mark: 74.08m
Jürgen Schult is a retired German track and field competitor who holds the world record in the discus throw as of 2021. It is the greatest record in men’s track and field, having been held since 1986.
Schult received the gold medal in the discus throw at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, on October 1, 1988. In 1986, he set a world record in the discus. His throw of 74.08 meters (243.0 feet) as an East German athlete beat the previous mark of a Soviet athlete.