(picture of tallest and shortest men in the world according to Guinness)Let's face it people, leverage is what makes a discus fly. Unfortunately not all throwers come into this world with the best levers. We are tall, short, slow, fast, coordinated, uncoordinated, the list goes on. Therefore in essence we all falter in one aspect of physical ability as far as being the optimal discus thrower. So what do we do? We work with what we have and try to improve what we lack.
If we look back in history at the best discus throwers of all time, what about them physically helped them achieve greatness? Lets watch this video:
As you can see, a majority of these individuals are Goliaths and only a few are David. Take a look at some of these statistics. Alekna is 6'6" 280lbs, Art Burns was 6'2" 297lbs, Kanter is 6'4" 270lbs, Delis was 6'1" 230lbs and Jurgen was 6'3" 260lbs. For a complete list of the dimensions of the 70 meter club members take a look at what my friends put together at team 75 plus.
With these numbers I can be assured that there is still a slight possibility of me hitting 70 meters in the future due to the dimensions of Louis Delis whose measurements are closest to mine.
Now that all theses numbers are out in the open, what can we learn from them? In my opinion this is what we should note:
- The best discus throwers in the world are at least 6 foot tall but not over 6'6"
- They weigh at least over 230lbs but not over 320lbs
Am I saying that you can't be a great discus thrower if you don't fit into this category? No, all I am saying is that the numbers are on your side if you fit in this category, which most of us do!
Don't loose hope if you are a five foot thrower or if you are a 6'9" giant. The numbers aren't on your size to throw over 70 meters but the high 60's are still well within your grasp. Thats it for it today. "Throw far and Prosper"
5 comments:
I think there is a slight flaw in the thinking of height equaling leverage for throwing. I am right at 6' tall and 286 but threw 53.6 as a sophomore in college. I was told with my height I would not get much further so I quit discus to concentrate on shot. Years later, a Dr. was discussing my stature and noticed I have a very long reach (80"). This would be equivalent to an athlete much taller than I. I think the reach number would be more telling as it has more of an effect on orbit than height alone. As a matter of fact, I think a shorter thrower with a long reach may have an advantage over a taller thrower with the same reach. Thanks
Vik
If you know 1997 World Champion Beatrice Faumuina then you would know that she's only 5ft 11 and same arm span. I mean im only 5ft 8 and im throwing 57m to 59 and im only 17, no i dont have an above average arm span but my coach always said "what you lack in height you up for in speed, power, and technique. So yeah saying that you have to be 6ft 6 to great is wrong, because it might be the fact people say short people can't do discus so short people think "i can't do discus so why try" you never know shorter people could have been great discus throwers if we didn't have this stereotype.
zac
Zac, if you're 17 then that means you are throwing the high school 1.6 kg, most likely. You should be about 10 extra meters at least with a 1.6 kg discus as compared to the men's 2.0 kg discus.
My height is 5'11" ...I have to throw as far ..it's possible
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