The first

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the men's

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

was recognised by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

in 1912. That inaugural record was the 15.54 m performance by

Ralph Rose Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California. Biography Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the fi ...

in 1909. As of June 21, 2009, 51 world records had been ratified by the IAAF in the event. The distances by these men were accomplished with a 16-pound shot. Rose's 1909 record lasted almost 19 years, and the record was untouched for almost a dozen years surrounding

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The record was improved upon five times in 1960 and four times in 1934. The record set in 1990 held for over 31 years before it was broken in 2021. The current world record was set in 2023. Since 1954, marks set in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

have stood for 42 of those years and counting.

World record progression

References

{{Athletics record progressions Shot put, men Shot put, men Shot put World record shot put

World record progression

See also

References