From Ralph Rose to Randy Barnes and Violette Gouraud-Morris to Natalya Lisovskaya, you can see the all-time progression for the men's and women's shot put world record below.
Photo By: See-ming Lee
Men's Shot Put World Record
Outdoor - Randy Barnes, 23.12m, 1990
Indoor - Randy Barnes, 22.66m, 1989
Randy Barnes set the current men's outdoor shot put world record with a throw of 23.12 meters, or 75'10.25". Barnes, an American thrower, made this throw on May 20, 1990 on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California and the mark has stood for more than 25 years. You can see video of the record-breaking throw below.
Barnes also holds the current men's indoor shot put world record. He made of throw of 22.66 meters, or 74'4.25". He set this record before his outdoor one, on January 20, 1989 in Los Angeles, California. There is some grainy video of the throw below.
Ralph Rose of the United States set the first official men's shot put world record. Rose threw a distance of 15.54 meters, or 51' even on August 21, 1909. This record held up for 19 years! In 1928, Emil Hirschfeld of Germany finally topped Rose's mark.
You can see a chart of each ratified world record in the men's shot put below:
1909-1949
Distance | Athlete | Country | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
15.54m | Ralph Rose | USA | 8/21/1909 |
15.79m | Emil Hirschfeld | Germany | 5/6/1928 |
15.87m | John Kuck | USA | 6/29/1928 |
16.04m | Emil Hirschfeld | Germany | 8/26/1928 |
16.04m | Frantisek Douda | Czechoslovakia | 10/4/1931 |
16.05m | Zygmunt Heljasz | Poland | 6/29/1932 |
16.16m | Leo Sexton | USA | 8/27/1932 |
16.20m | Frantisek Douda | Czechoslovakia | 9/24/1932 |
16.48m | John Lyman | USA | 4/21/1934 |
16.80m | Jack Torrance | USA | 4/27/1934 |
16.89m | Jack Torrance | USA | 6/30/1934 |
17.40m | Jack Torrance | USA | 8/5/1934 |
17.68m | Charlie Fonville | USA | 4/17/1948 |
17.79m | Jim Fuchs | USA | 7/28/1949 |
1950-1959
17.82m | Jim Fuchs | USA | 4/29/1950 |
17.90m | Jim Fuchs | USA | 8/20/1950 |
17.95m | Jim Fuchs | USA | 8/22/1950 |
18.00m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 5/9/1953 |
18.04m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 6/5/1953 |
18.42m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 5/8/1954 |
18.43m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 5/21/1954 |
18.54m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 6/11/1954 |
18.62m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 5/5/1956 |
18.69m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 6/15/1956 |
19.06m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 9/3/1956 |
19.25m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 10/1/1956 |
19.25m | Dallas Long | USA | 3/28/1959 |
19.30m | Parry O'Brien | USA | 8/1/1959 |
1960-1976
19.38m | Dallas Long | USA | 3/5/1960 |
19.45m | Bill Nieder | USA | 3/19/1960 |
19.67m | Dallas Long | USA | 3/26/1960 |
19.99m | Bill Nieder | USA | 4/2/1960 |
20.06m | Bill Nieder | USA | 8/12/1960 |
20.08m | Dallas Long | USA | 5/18/1962 |
20.10m | Dallas Long | USA | 4/4/1964 |
20.20m | Dallas Long | USA | 5/29/1964 |
20.68m | Dallas Long | USA | 7/25/1964 |
21.52m | Randy Matson | USA | 5/8/1965 |
21.78m | Randy Matson | USA | 4/23/1967 |
21.82m | Al Feuerbach | USA | 5/5/1973 |
21.85m | Terry Albritton | USA | 2/21/1976 |
22.00m | Aleksandr Baryshnikov | Soviet Union | 6/10/1976 |
1978-present day
22.15m | Udo Beyer | East Germany | 7/6/1978 |
22.22m | Udo Beyer | East Germany | 6/25/1983 |
22.62m | Ulf Timmermann | East Germany | 9/22/1985 |
22.64m | Udo Beyer | East Germany | 8/20/1986 |
22.72m | Alessandro Andrei | Italy | 8/12/1987 |
22.84m | Alessandro Andrei | Italy | 8/12/1987 |
22.91m | Alessandro Andrei | Italy | 8/12/1987 |
23.06m | Ulf Timmermann | East Germany | 5/22/1988 |
23.12m | Randy Barnes | USA | 5/20/1990 |
* Tables are adapted from wikipedia.
While it isn't on the list above, at one point Brian Oldfield had the farthest throw in the world. In 1975, he uncorked a throw of 75 feet. Because he was competing as a professional athlete at the time, it was not ratified as a world record. Nobody would throw past that mark until Alessandro Andrei went 22.91 meters 12 years later, in 1987. Oldfield was a pioneer of the shot put spin technique. You can see video of Oldfield's throw below. Get that man the steel tape!
The United States' men have had a terrific history in the shot put. Of the 51 officially ratified world records by the IAAF, the United States accounts for 37 of them! This includes one period of more than 40 years where only an American held the record.
Jack Torrance and Jim Fuchs were early record holders for the USA, but Parry O'Brien was a true pioneer. He is credited with creating the glide technique and was the first man to throw further than 60 feet, when he did so in 1954. O'Brien was dominant in the event, officially breaking the record 10 times between 1953 and 1959.
These 3 and others contributed to a time when 10 different American men broke the world record a total of 33 times between 1934 and 1976, while no other country even did once. Dallas Long, Randy Matson, Bill Nieder and Al Feuerbach were also legends of the time. Matson became the first man to throw further than 70 feet when he did so in 1965.
The record has held since 1990, with no one getting within a foot of it in that time. American Joe Kovacs, at 22.56 meters in 2015, and Christian Cantwell, at 22.54 meters in 2004, are two of the closest recent examples.
Men with multiple world record setting throws:
10 - Parry O'Brien
7 - Dallas Long
4 - Jim Fuchs
3 - Jack Torrance, Bill Nieder, Alessandro Andrei
2 - Emil Hirschfeld, Randy Matson, Udo Beyer, Ulf Timmermann
Women's Shot Put World Record
Outdoor - Natalya Lisovskaya, 22.63m, 1987
Indoor - Helena Fibingerova, 22.50m, 1977
Natalya Lisovskaya, a former Soviet Union athlete, set the current women's outdoor shot put world record with a mark of 22.63 meters, or 74'3". She made the mark on June 7, 1987 in Moscow. I couldn't find video of the throw, but you can see Lisovskaya competing below.
Helena Fibingerova, a Czech athlete, set the current women's indoor shot put world record with a mark of 22.50 meters of 73'10". She threw that distance at a meet in Jablonec on February 19, 1977. You can see video of Fibingerova competing below.
Violette Gouraud-Morris of France was the first official world record holder with a distance of 10.15m or 33'3.75", a mark she threw in 1924. This record would stand for almost 3 years.
You can find a chart listing all the women's shot put world record progressions below:
1924-1952
Distance | Athlete | Country | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
10.15m | Violette Gouraud-Morris | France | 7/14/1924 |
10.84m | Ruth Lange | Germany | 5/28/1927 |
11.32m | Ruth Lange | Germany | 8/6/1927 |
11.52m | Ruth Lange | Germany | 6/3/1928 |
11.96m | Grete Heublein | Germany | 7/15/1928 |
12.85m | Grete Heublein | Germany | 7/21/1929 |
12.88m | Grete Heublein | Germany | 6/28/1931 |
13.70m | Grete Heublein | Germany | 8/16/1931 |
14.38m | Gisela Mauermayer | Germany | 7/15/1934 |
14.59m | Tatyana Sevryukova | Soviet Union | 5/15/1932 |
14.86m | Klavdia Tochonova | Soviet Union | 10/30/1949 |
15.02m | Anna Andreeva | Soviet Union | 11/9/1950 |
15.28m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 7/26/1952 |
15.37m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 9/20/1952 |
1952-1968
15.42m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 10/1/1952 |
16.20m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 10/9/1953 |
16.28m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 9/14/1954 |
16.28m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 9/5/1955 |
16.67m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 11/15/1955 |
16.76m | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 10/13/1956 |
17.25m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 4/26/1959 |
17.42m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 7/16/1960 |
17.78m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 8/13/1960 |
18.55m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 6/10/1962 |
18.55m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 9/12/1962 |
18.59m | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 9/19/1965 |
18.67m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 4/28/1968 |
18.87m | Margitta Gummel | East Germany | 9/22/1968 |
1968-1976
19.07m | Margitta Gummel | East Germany | 10/20/1968 |
19.61m | Margitta Gummel | East Germany | 10/20/1968 |
19.72m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 5/30/1969 |
20.09m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 7/13/1969 |
20.10m | Margitta Gummel | East Germany | 9/11/1969 |
20.10m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 9/16/1969 |
20.43m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 9/16/1969 |
20.43m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 8/29/1971 |
20.63m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 5/19/1972 |
21.03m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 9/7/1972 |
21.20m | Nadezhda Chizhova | Soviet Union | 8/28/1973 |
21.60m | Marianne Adam | East Germany | 8/6/1975 |
21.67m | Marianne Adam | East Germany | 5/30/1976 |
21.87m | Ivanka Khristova | Bulgaria | 7/3/1976 |
1976-present day
21.89m | Ivanka Khristova | Bulgaria | 7/4/1976 |
21.99m | Helena Fibingerova | Czechoslovakia | 9/26/1976 |
22.32m | Helena Fibingerova | Czechoslovakia | 8/20/1977 |
22.36m | Ilona Slupianek | East Germany | 5/2/1980 |
22.45m | Ilona Slupianek | East Germany | 5/11/1980 |
22.53m | Natalya Lisovskaya | Soviet Union | 5/27/1984 |
22.60m | Natalya Lisovskaya | Soviet Union | 6/7/1987 |
22.63m | Natalya Lisovskaya | Soviet Union | 6/7/1987 |
* Tables are adapted from wikipedia.
A few of the early women were also on the discus list. Grete Heublin, Gisela Mauermayer, and Tamara Press each also had the world record in the discus!
Galina Zybina set the record 8 times until Press broke it the next 6. The first woman to break the 40 foot barrier was Heublein in 1929. Zybina cleared 50 feet in 1952. In 1962, Press was the first woman to throw further than 60 feet, and finally, in 1975, Marianne Adam passed the 70 foot marker.
The record has held since 1987 and hasn't been seriously threatened. Valeria Adams of New Zealand threw a distance of 21.24 meters in 2011 and Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus went 21.70 meters in 2010. Ostapchuk's mark is the closest to the record since 1988.
Women with multiple world record setting throws:
9 - Nadezhda Chizhova
8 - Galina Zybina
6 - Tamara Press
4 - Grete Heublein, Margitta Gummel
3 - Ruth Lange, Natalya Lisovskaya
2 - Marianne Adam, Ivanka Khristova, Helena Fibingerova, Ilona Slupianek
The records for both men and women are massive distances that haven't been threatened in some time. It will be interesting to see if and when someone is capable of challenging them.
