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Men's discus throw
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Adolfo Consolini
VenueWembley Stadium
DateAugust 2 (qualifying and final)
Competitors28 from 18 nations
Winning distance52.78 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Adolfo Consolini
 Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Giuseppe Tosi
 Italy
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Fortune Gordien
 United States
← 1936
1952 →

The men's discus throw event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Twenty-eight athletes from 18 nations competed.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition was held on August 2. The final was won by Adolfo Consolini of Italy.[2] It was the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw; Italy had previously taken bronze in 1936. Giuseppe Tosi earned silver to put Italy in the top two places. Fortune Gordien of the United States won bronze, keeping the Americans on the podium in each appearance of the men's discus throw to date.

Background

This was the 11th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1936 Games were bronze medalist Giorgio Oberweger of Italy and sixth-place finisher Nikolaos Syllas of Greece. Oberweger's teammates, Adolfo Consolini (who had held the world record until 1946, and would take it back later in 1948) and Giuseppe Tosi, were the favorites after finishing first and second in the European championships. The biggest challenger outside of Italy was American Fortune Gordien, the 1947 and 1948 AAU champion. World record holder and inventor of the Minnesota Whip technique Bob Fitch was unable to attend the Games.[1]

South Korea, Pakistan, and Peru each made their debut in the men's discus throw. The United States made its 11th appearance, having competed in every edition of the Olympic men's discus throw to date.

Competition format

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final. In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 46.00 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieved that distance, the top 12 would advance. The results of the qualifying round were then ignored. Finalists received three throws each, with the top six competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted.[1][3]

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record  Bob Fitch (USA) 54.93 Minneapolis, United States 8 June 1946
Olympic record  Ken Carpenter (USA) 50.48 Berlin, Germany 5 August 1936

Adolfo Consolini and Giuseppe Tosi both beat the Olympic record in the qualifying round, with Consolini's throw going 51.08 metres. Tosi's first throw in the final bettered that, at 51.78 metres. Consolini responded with a 52.78 metres throw in the second set. The bronze medalist, Fortune Gordien, also exceeded the old record.

Schedule

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Monday, 2 August 1948 11:00
15:30
Qualifying
Final

Results

Qualifying round

Qual. rule: qualification standard 46.00m (Q) or at least best 12 qualified (q). Individual throw results are not known, though Consolini and Tosi's qualifying throws were on the first attempt. Frank fouled on his first and third throws.

Rank Athlete Nation Distance Notes
1 Adolfo Consolini  Italy 51.08 Q, OR
2 Giuseppe Tosi  Italy 50.56 Q
3 Fortune Gordien  United States 48.40 Q
4 Veikko Nyqvist  Finland 47.75 Q
5 Ivar Ramstad  Norway 47.34 Q
6 Nikolaos Syllas  Greece 47.03 Q
7 Ferenc Klics  Hungary 46.65 Q
8 Stein Johnson  Norway 46.54 Q
9 Uno Fransson  Sweden 45.99 q
10 Hermann Tunner  Austria 45.92 q
11 Eduardo Julve  Peru 45.86 q
12 Arvo Huutoniemi  Finland 44.77 q
13 Bill Burton  United States 43.78
14 Félix Erauzquin  Spain 43.66
15 Giorgio Oberweger  Italy 43.13
16 Danilo Žerjal  Yugoslavia 43.07
17 Manuel Consiglieri  Peru 43.01
18 Emilio Malchiodi  Argentina 42.98
19 James Nesbitt  Great Britain 42.09
20 Vic Frank  United States 42.00
21 Jack Brewer  Great Britain 41.95
22 Cummin Clancy  Ireland 40.73
23 Eric Coy  Canada 39.53
24 Roger Verhaes  Belgium 39.14
25 Laurence Reavell-Carter  Great Britain 38.04
26 Nazar Muhammad Khan Malik  Pakistan 36.23
Ahmed Zahur Khan  Pakistan 36.23
An Yeong-han  South Korea No mark
Aad de Bruyn  Netherlands DNS
José Carvahal  Spain DNS
Gin Gang-hwan  South Korea DNS
Ignace Heinrich  France DNS
Raymond Kirstetter  France DNS
Mieczysław Łomowski  Poland DNS
José Luis Torres  Spain DNS

Final

Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Distance Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Adolfo Consolini  Italy 49.67 52.78 OR 47.94 X 50.51 50.43 52.78 OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Giuseppe Tosi  Italy 51.78 OR 48.81 50.11 50.09 X 51.18 51.78
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Fortune Gordien  United States 47.95 49.20 50.77 X 48.74 X 50.77
4 Ivar Ramstad  Norway Unknown 49.21
5 Ferenc Klics  Hungary Unknown 48.21
6 Veikko Nyqvist  Finland Unknown 47.33
7 Nikolaos Syllas  Greece Unknown Did not advance 47.25
8 Stein Johnson  Norway Unknown Did not advance 46.54
9 Arvo Huutoniemi  Finland Unknown Did not advance 45.28
10 Uno Fransson  Sweden Unknown Did not advance 45.25
11 Hermann Tunner  Austria Unknown Did not advance 44.43
12 Eduardo Julve  Peru Unknown Did not advance 44.05

References

  1. ^ a b c "Discus Throw, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Athletics at the 1948 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 271.