Athletics at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

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.

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 →

Background

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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

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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

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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

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All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

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

Results

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Qualifying round

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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

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Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Distance Notes
  Adolfo Consolini   Italy 49.67 52.78 OR 47.94 X 50.51 50.43 52.78 OR
  Giuseppe Tosi   Italy 51.78 OR 48.81 50.11 50.09 X 51.18 51.78
  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

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  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.
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