1968 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus Throw (Men)

sport	athletics
discipline	Discus throw
gender	Men
Attendees	27 athletes from 19 countries
Competition location	Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Competition phase	October 14, 1968 (qualification) October 15, 1968 (final)
Medalist Al Oerter ( USA )   Lothar Milde ( GDR )   Ludvík Daněk ( TCH )

The men's discus throw at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City was held on October 14th and 15th, 1968 in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario . 27 athletes took part.

The American Al Oerter became Olympic champion . He won against Lothar Milde from the GDR and the Czechoslovak Ludvík Daněk .

Hein-Direck Neu , Klaus-Peter Hennig and Jens Reimers competed for the Federal Republic of Germany - officially Germany . Hennig and Reimers failed in the qualification, Neu reached the final and was ninth there.
In addition to the silver medalist Milde, the GDR - officially East Germany - was represented by Hartmut Losch and Günter Schaumburg , who also both reached the final. Losch was fourth there, Schaumburg tenth. Edy Hubacher , who became Olympic champion in the four-man bobsleigh in Sapporo in 1972
, competed for Switzerland . Hubacher failed just like the Austrian Heimo Reinitzer . Athletes from Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	68.40 m	Jay Silvester ( USA )	Reno , USA	18th September 1968
Olympic record	61.00 m	Al Oerter ( USA )	Tokyo finals , Japan	October 15, 1964

Conducting the competition

The athletes entered a qualifying round on October 14th, which was completed in two groups. The twelve best starters qualified for the final. The qualification distance to directly reach the final on October 15th was 58.00 m. There, each participant initially had three attempts. For the first time, the eight best athletes - and not the six best athletes until 1964 - were then able to complete three more attempts.

Time schedule

October 14, 10:00 a.m .: Qualification

October 15, 3 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are Mexico City local time ( UTC −6)

The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

qualification

Date: October 14, 1968, from 10:00 a.m.

Group A

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Jay New Years	United States	63.64 m OR	-	-	63.64 m	OR
2	Hartmut Losch	GDR	60.40 m	-	-	60.40 m
3	Gary Carlsen	United States	60.36 m	-	-	60.36 m
	Lothar Milde	GDR
5	Günter Schaumburg	GDR	60.14 m	-	-	60.14 m
6th	Al Oerter	United States	59.36 m	-	-	59.36 m
7th	Ludvík Daněk	Czechoslovakia	59.34 m	58.10 m	56.42 m	59.34 m
8th	Ricky Bruch	Sweden	59.08 m	-	-	59.08 m
9	Hein-Direck New	BR Germany	x	55.26 m	58.56 m	58.56 m
10	Ferenc Tégla	Hungary	57.18 m	58.50 m	-	58.50 m
11	Edmund Piątkowski	Poland	58.24 m	-	-	58.24 m
12	Guram Gudashvili	Soviet Union	57.48 m	55.84 m	x	57.48 m
13	George Puce	Canada	57.34 m	x	x	57.34 m
14th	Jens Reimers	BR Germany	53.18 m	x	54.02 m	54.02 m

Group B

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Robin Tait	New Zealand	58.88 m	-	-	58.88 m
2	Namakoro Niaré	Mali	x	54.92 m	56.60 m	56.60 m
3	János Faragó	Hungary	54.98 m	56.00 m	x	56.00 m
4th	Leszek Gajdziński	Poland	54.92 m	x	x	54.92 m
5	Denis Ségui Kragbé	Ivory Coast	55.24 m	54.24 m	x	55.24 m
6th	Jalal Keshmiri	Iran	53.00 m	53.96 m	53.30 m	53.96 m
7th	Klaus-Peter Hennig	BR Germany	53.80 m	x	x	53.80 m
8th	Heimo Reinitzer	Austria	51.90 m	52.00 m	53.52 m	53.52 m
9	Modesto Mederos	Cuba	52.30 m	x	49.42 m	52.30 m
10	Bill Tancred	Great Britain	x	48.86 m	51.74 m	51.74 m
11	Edy Hubacher	Switzerland	x	49.80 m	51.70 m	51.70 m
12	Rolando Mendoza	Nicaragua	39.62 m	36.46 m	38.78 m	39.62 m
13	Mauricio Jubis	El Salvador	33.62 m	35.94 m	36.18 m	36.18 m

final

Date: October 15, 1968, 3:00 p.m.

The favorite role fell to the US world record holder Silvester. He had achieved distances beyond 66 meters several times and seemed to be throwing at a level that was hardly attainable for other throwers this year. However, it was usually stadiums that offered particularly favorable conditions for the throwers with their wind conditions, often referred to as so-called 'sailing fields'. The GDR starters were also among the favorites and everyone was excited about the performance of the extremely strong three-time Olympic champion Alfred Oerter.

New Year's Eve had improved the Olympic record by more than two meters in qualifying . In the final, however, the two GDR throwers Lothar Milde and Hartmut Losch took the lead. Oerter followed in fourth place, New Year's Eve in five. In lap two, Milde expanded his lead, and New Year's Eve drew level with Oerter. In the third attempt, Al Oerter threw his discus at a distance of 64.78 m and thus improved New Year's Olympic record by more than a meter. This leadership did not falter in the further course of the competition. Lothar Milde stayed in second place, the Czechoslovak Ludvík Daněk moved up between Milde and Hartmut Losch on the bronze place. Jay Silvester stayed well below his pre-game results and did not get past fifth. Nothing changed in this order until the end.

Al Oerter was the first athlete to become Olympic champion in a discipline four times in a row.

In the 16th Olympic final it was the twelfth US victory, the fifth in a row.

GDR thrower Lothar Milde won the first German medal in this discipline.

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	4th attempt	5th attempt	6th attempt	Bottom line	annotation
1	Al Oerter	United States	61.78 m	x	64.78 m OR	62.42 m	64.74 m	64.04 m	64.78 m	OR
2	Lothar Milde	GDR	62.44 m	63.08 m	62.58 m	59.98 m	60.24 m	58.00 m	63.08 m
3	Ludvík Daněk	Czechoslovakia	60.62 m	x	62.92 m	x	61.28 m	61.34 m	62.92 m
4th	Hartmut Losch	GDR	62.12 m	61.68 m	60.34 m	59.48 m	58.94 m	59.50 m	62.12 m
5	Jay New Years	United States	61.10 m	61.78 m	x	x	x	60.44 m	61.78 m
6th	Gary Carlsen	United States	58.62 m	59.26 m	59.46 m	59.30 m	52.60 m	58.54 m	59.46 m
7th	Edmund Piątkowski	Poland	59.40 m	58.46 m	57.66 m	57.52 m	x	58.72 m	59.40 m
8th	Ricky Bruch	Sweden	58.94 m	58.02 m	58.12 m	59.28 m	58.50 m	58.34 m	59.28 m
9	Hein-Direck New	BR Germany	55.96 m	x	58.66 m	not in the final of the eight best throwers			58.66 m
10	Günter Schaumburg	GDR	56.64 m	57.70 m	58.62 m				58.62 m
11	Ferenc Tégla	Hungary	56.74 m	58.36 m	57.78 m				58.36 m
12	Robin Tait	New Zealand	56.52 m	57.68 m	56.84 m				57.68 m

• 

  GDR thrower Lothar Milde, winner of the silver medal

• 

  Bronze for the Czechoslovak Ludvík Daněk

• 

  Hartmut Losch, GDR, came fourth

• 

  World record holder Jay Silvester from the USA reached number five

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 367f

Video

• Al Oerter's Quadruple Discus Gold , published October 1, 2016 on youtube.com, accessed November 9, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference Discus Throw , accessed November 9, 2017
• Official report - summary p. 104f., English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1968 p. 529, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 page 558 (English) ( Memento from June 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Official report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 10, English / French (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Official Report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 529, engl./frz. (PDF), accessed on November 9, 2017 
4. ^ Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 367