Weight Throw

weight throw, sport of throwing a weight for distance or height. Men have long matched strength and skill at hurling objects. The roth cleas, or wheel feat, reputedly was a major test of the ancient Tailteann Games in Ireland. The competition consisted of various methods of throwing: from shoulder or side, with one or two hands, and with or without a run. The implements used varied widely in weight and conformation. Early in the 20th century, records were listed for throwing weights of 14, 28, 35, and 56 pounds (6.3, 12.7, 15.9, and 25.4 kg) for both distance and height. Weight throwing is distinct from the shot put and the discus throw and from the present-day hammer throw.

In 1904 and 1920, 56-pound weight-throwing contests for distance were included as an athletics event in the Olympic Games. Étienne Desmarteau (Canada) won the 1904 competition with a throw of 10.46 metres (34 feet 4 inches), and Pat MacDonald (United States) won in 1920 with a heave of 11.26 metres (36.93 feet). In 1914 P. Donovan (United States) set a world record for throwing the 56-pound weight for height with a distance of 5.17 metres (16.96 feet). By the second half of the 20th century, there no longer was any international competition in weight throwing, and performances did not receive world-record listing by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of track and field.

The sport remained popular, however, in the northeastern United States. The 35-pound weight throw is a standard event in the annual championship indoor meets of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (ICAAAA). The AAU also had a 56-pound weight throw on its list of outdoor championship events until 1959, when it was discontinued.

The weight, either 35 or 56 pounds, is a ball molded of lead or a brass shell filled with lead. Affixed to it by an eyebolt or swivel coupling is a triangular handle of round iron or steel. The throw must be completed from within a 2.1-metre (6.9-foot) circle, as in the more standard shot put and hammer throw events. Most athletes use a technique similar to that used in hammer throwing, whirling the weight around the body and making three accelerating revolutions of the body before release. Top standards of performance in throwing for distance have risen to more than 21.35 metres (70.03 feet) with the 35-pound weight and more than 12.2 metres (40 feet) with the 56-pound weight.