Abstract

Throwing events have been an integral part of the track and field program in both Olympic and Commonwealth Games since their inception. Most scientific studies of these events have concentrated on biomechanical analysis or the physical capacity requirements of the athletes. This paper examines and compares the trends over time of the gold medal results of three throwing events in the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games for male competitors. Data was collected from the ‘Athletic’s Almanac’ web-site, for the period since inception of these games until the present day. The data was examined to identify the linear trends that exist for all three events. Similarities between results in the shot-put and hammer of a steady increase in distances thrown over time were evident. Whereas, the discus records showed a steeper positive relationship over time. In addition, critical world-wide incidents, trends in social expectations and increase in sports science and technical knowledge were concluded to have an effect on the results of these athletic pursuits in terms of acceleration periods and plateaus of results. In summary, trends in general for records in these throwing events showed a steady rise from the outset of competition until the late 1960s to early 1970s. Since this period, there has been considerable tapering off of improvements in distances achieved. These trends were seen in both the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.