The men's shot put event was 
featured in the first modern 
Olympics in 1896.  The women's 
event was added in 1948.  The 
shot is a round ball made of iron or 
steel and weighs 16 lbs. for the 
men's event, 8 lbs. for the 
women's.  The shot is pushed from
the shoulder with one hand while 
the thrower remains inside a circle.
The thrower hops backward 
across the circle, rotates 180 
degrees and throws the ball with 
full force.  In the first Olympics, the 
winning throw was under 37'; in 
1992, the winner threw the shot 
more than 70'.

The shot is another Olympic event 
of Celtic origin, part of the 19th 
century Scottish Highland Games.  
American men dominated the sport 
through the 1960s, losing the Gold 
only once in all those years.  In the 
1970s, the Eastern Europeans and 
Italians dominated.  In 1992, for the 
first time since 1968, an American, 
Michael Stulce, won Gold.  The 
women's competition has been 
dominated since its inception by the
Soviets and East Germans.