The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving "putting" (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball, also called the shot, as far as possible.

Competitions and rules
Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 2.135 metres (7 feet) in diameter, with a toe board approximately 4" high at the front of the circle. The shot must land within a vector of approximately 30 degrees. The athlete must rest the shot in between the neck and shoulder and keep it tight to the neck while throwing. At the end of the throw, the thrower must push the throwing arm straight with the thumb pointing down; if the thrower does not push the ball out and throws it like a baseball, the thrower may receive injury. Throwing a shot requires immense strength and power as well as grace and balance; while not as much so as discus, shot put is not merely heaving a metal ball but requires finesse. The shot putters must enter and leave the circle from the rear half of the circle, or a foul is called. Other fouls include stepping out of the circle before the judge calls the mark, letting some article of clothing touch the top of the toeboard or outside the circle, and/or the shot falling outside of the borders to the left and the right. The distance thrown is measured from the front of the circle to where the shot lands at its nearest disturbance of the soil.

Each competitor gets a certain number of throws, usually 6 in elite competition, and the competitor with the farthest legal put is declared the winner. In men's competition, the shot weighs approximately 7.26kg kilograms (16 pounds). The women's shot weighs 4 kg (8.8 pounds). American high schools usually use 12 pound (5.44 kg) shots for boys and 4 kg shots for girls; these are sometimes known as practice shots.The weight of the ball is different depending the age group.

Shot put competitions have been held at the Summer Olympic Games since their inception, and is also included as an event in the indoor world championships. While the event is popular, competitors generally do not gain the same recognition as track athletes.

The shot put originates from Scottish highlanders putting a rounded cube stone or metal form of considerable weight from behind a given line.


Putting styles
There are currently two putting styles in use by shot put competitors, the glide and the spin. The first involves sidestepping to the front of the circle and releasing the shotput (the glide, invented in 1876 in the United States). In 1951 Parry O'Brien of the United States invented a technique that involves the putter facing backwards, spinning 180 degrees across the circle, and then tossing the shot. From this, in 1976, Brian Oldfield popularized a technique which involves rotating like a discus thrower (the spin). The inventor of the spin is unknown although it was first used by the Germans in the early 1970's.

In both cases, the key is to gain maximum forward velocity to help speed the shot on its way. Currently, most top shot putters use the spin, but the glide remains popular especially at the amateur level since the technique is easier to master. It is noteworthy that the number one distance all time by a male putter (Randy Barnes)was completed with the spin technique and the close second best all time distance (Ulf Timmerman) was completed with the glide technique.


World records
The current world record holders are:

Randy Barnes (Outdoor) 23.12 m (75 ft 10¼ in) Westwood, CA, USA 20 May 1990 
Randy Barnes (Indoor) 22.66 m (74 ft 4¼ in) Los Angeles, CA, USA 20 January 1989 
And for women:

Natalya Lisovskaya (Outdoor) 22.63 m Moscow, URS 7 June 1987 
Helena Fibingerová (Indoor) 22.50 m Jablonec, TCH February 19, 1977 
The top distances for the last decade have decreased, especially for women, perhaps due to increased anti-doping efforts.