1976 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus Throw (Men)

sport	athletics
discipline	Discus throw
gender	Men
Attendees	30 athletes from 20 countries
Competition location	Montreal Olympic Stadium
Competition phase	July 24, 1976 (qualifying) July 25, 1976 (final)
Medalist Mac Wilkins ( USA )   Wolfgang Schmidt ( GDR )   John Powell ( USA )

The men's discus throw at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal was played on July 24 and 25, 1976 in the Montreal Olympic Stadium. 30 athletes took part.

The American Mac Wilkins became Olympic champion . He won ahead of Wolfgang Schmidt from the GDR and his compatriot John Powell .

In addition to the medalist Schmidt, Siegfried Pachale and Norbert Thiede also competed for the GDR . Both reached the final. Thiede was fourth, Pachale fifth. Hein-Direck Neu took part
for the Federal Republic of Germany . He also reached the final and was twelfth. Throwers from Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	70.86 m	Mac Wilkins ( USA )	San Jose , USA	May 1, 1976
Olympic record	64.78 m	Al Oerter ( USA )	Mexico City Final , Mexico	15th October 1968

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in a qualifying round on July 24th, which was conducted in two groups. The qualification distance for the direct entry into the final on July 25th was 60.00 m. Since more than twelve athletes reached this distance, the final field was not filled any further.

In the final, each athlete initially had three attempts. The best eight participants were then entitled to another three attempts.

Time schedule

July 24, 10:00 a.m .: Qualification

July 25, 3 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are local Montreal time ( UTC − 5 )

The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

qualification

Date: July 24, 1976, from 10 a.m.

Group A

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Mac Wilkins	United States	68.28 m OR	-	-	68.28 m	OR
2	Welko Welew	Bulgaria	63.54 m	-	-	63.54 m
3	Wolfgang Schmidt	GDR	63.14 m	-	-	63.14 m
4th	Pentti Kahma	Finland	62.10 m	-	-	62.10 m
5	Jay New Years	United States	x	62.06 m	-	62.06 m
6th	Hein-Direck New	BR Germany	x	58.90 m	61.88 m	61.88 m
7th	John Powell	United States	x	61.48 m	-	61.48 m
8th	Norbert Thiede	GDR	61.64 m	-	-	61.64 m
9	Siegfried Pachale	GDR	x	60.64 m	-	60.64 m
10	Ludvík Daněk	Czechoslovakia	60.44 m	-	-	60.44 m
11	Markku Tuokko	Finland	59.80 m	59.26 m	57.18 m	59.80 m
12	Silvano Simeon	Italy	58.76 m	59.06 m	x	59.06 m
13	Ricky Bruch	Sweden	56.98 m	x	58.06 m	58.06 m
14th	Nikolai Wichor	Soviet Union	x	57.50 m	54.52 m	57.50 m
ogV	Bishop Dolegiewicz	Canada	x	x	x		without space

Group B

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Armando De Vincentiis	Italy	62.26 m	-	-	62.26 m
2	Ferenc Tégla	Hungary	57.00 m	61.66 m	-	61.66 m
3	Knut Hjeltnes	Norway	x	61.30 m	-	61.30 m
4th	Josef Šilhavý	Czechoslovakia	60.82 m	-	-	60.82 m
5	János Faragó	Hungary	59.30 m	60.06 m	-	60.06 m
6th	Julián Morrinson	Cuba	59.92 m	56.66 m	58.50 m	59.92 m
7th	Stanisław Wołodko	Poland	57.56 m	57.84 m	59.42 m	59.42 m
8th	Iosif Naghi	Romania	x	x	57.28 m	57.28 m
9	Ain Roost	Canada	58.56 m	x	x	58.56 m
10	Borys Chambul	Canada	x	55.86 m	x	55.86 m
11	Pete Tancred	Great Britain	55.20 m	x	55.50 m	55.50 m
12	Georges Schroeder	Belgium	x	54.04 m	54.80 m	54.80 m
13	Ibrahima Guèye	Senegal	52.82 m	x	52.76 m	52.82 m
14th	Salman Hessam	Iran	52.40 m	50.40 m	x	52.40 m
15th	Mahmoud Al-Zubramawi	Saudi Arabia	31.80 m	35.30 m	35.94 m	35.94 m

final

Date: July 25, 1976, 3 p.m.

The US thrower Mac Wilkins had improved the world record three times in a single day shortly before the games , with his second throw as the first discus thrower to surpass the 70-meter mark. With that he had put himself in a favorite position. But in the past, when throwing a discus on certain sports facilities with particularly good wind conditions, the so-called sailing meadows , brilliant distances were achieved more frequently, which the throwers could not confirm in competition at major events. However, Wilkins already achieved a new Olympic record in qualifying with 68.28 m , with which he underpinned his favorite position. Other medal candidates were above all Wilkins' compatriot John Powell and the GDR athlete Wolfgang Schmidt, a friend of Wilkins, whose relationship with Powell was seen as not particularly good. Although the 1972 Olympic champion , Ludvík Daněk, qualified for the final, it no longer had the quality of years gone by.

The final was contested by 15 throwers. In the first attempt, Schmidt took the lead from Powell. But the widths were still in a range that promised significant increases. In the second round, Wilkins took the lead with 67.50 m, ahead of Powell, who was now able to surpass Schmidt. Schmidt improved in the third attempt, but Powell countered with 65.70 m and thus remained on the silver rank. Rounds four and five brought no change in the classification. In the last attempt, Schmidt scored 66.22 m and passed Powell. In the end, Mac Wilkins was Olympic champion, Wolfgang Schmidt won the silver and John Powell the bronze medal. With Norbert Thiede and Siegfried Pachale, two more GDR throwers reached fourth and fifth place. Both surpassed the 64-meter mark. Wilkins' Olympic record from qualifying was not achieved in the final, but the competition was still of a high level with very good distances.

In the 18th Olympic final, Mac Wilkins won the 13th US victory.

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	4th attempt	5th attempt	6th attempt	Bottom line	annotation
1	Mac Wilkins	United States	61.78 m	67.50 m	63.44 m	63.52 m	x	66.14 m	67.50 m
2	Wolfgang Schmidt	GDR	63.68 m	x	65.16 m	x	63.96 m	66.22 m	66.22 m
3	John Powell	United States	62.48 m	64.24 m	65.70 m	60.48 m	60.20 m	64.24 m	65.70 m
4th	Norbert Thiede	GDR	62.40 m	61.66 m	61.98 m	63.02 m	64.30 m	63.04 m	64.30 m
5	Siegfried Pachale	GDR	59.62 m	64.04 m	60.02 m	61.08 m	59.62 m	64.24 m	64.24 m
6th	Pentti Kahma	Finland	63.12 m	61.22 m	x	x	x	61.94 m	63.12 m
7th	Knut Hjeltnes	Norway	60.26 m	62.02 m	61.60 m	61.26 m	61.24 m	63.06 m	63.06 m
8th	Jay New Years	United States	61.60 m	x	x	x	61.98 m	x	61.98 m
9	Ludvík Daněk	Czechoslovakia	60.12 m	61.28 m	59.62 m	not in the final of the eight best throwers			61.28 m
10	Welko Welew	Bulgaria	60.94 m	60.68 m	x				60.94 m
11	Ferenc Tégla	Hungary	57.44 m	57.00 m	60.54 m				60.54 m
12	Hein-Direck New	BR Germany	59.44 m	60.26 m	60.46 m				60.46 m
13	Josef Šilhavý	Czechoslovakia	57.62 m	58.42 m	x				58.42 m
14th	János Faragó	Hungary	57.48 m	57.30 m	x				57.48 m
15th	Armando De Vincentiis	Italy	55.86 m	x	x				55.86 m

• 

  Wolfgang Schmidt. GDR, winner of the silver medal

• 

  The American Jay Silvester reached number eight

• 

  The 1972 Olympic champion Ludvík Daněk from Czechoslovakia achieved ninth place again

literature

• Ernst Huberty , Willy B. Wange (Ed.): The Olympic Games Montreal Innsbruck 1976. Lingen-Verlag, Cologne 1976, DNB 800186109 , p. 226f.

Video

• 1976 Olympic Games Mac Wilkins , published May 30, 2012 on youtube.com, accessed December 17, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference Discus Throw , accessed December 17, 2017
• Montréal 1976 Official Report, Volume III, Results , p. 75f, English / French (PDF, 23 MB), accessed on December 17, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 Page 558 (Engl.) ( Memento of 29 June 2011 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on 17 December 2017.
2. ↑ Montréal 1976 Official Report, Volume III, Results , p. 23, English / French (PDF, 23 MB), accessed on December 17, 2017.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Montréal 1976 Official Report, Volume III, Results , p. 75, English / French (PDF, 23 MB), accessed on December 17, 2017.
4. ↑ SportsReference , accessed December 17, 2017.