# Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

The men's discus throw was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912. Forty-one discus throwers from 15 nation competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The event was won by Armas Taipale of Finland, the nation's first medal in the men's discus throw. Richard Byrd took silver and James Duncan took bronze to continue the United States' podium streak at five consecutive Games.

## Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning competitors from 1908 included fourth-place finisher Verner Järvinen of Finland, seventh-place finisher György Luntzer of Hungary, eighth-place finisher André Tison of France, and eleventh-place finisher Emil Welz of Germany. Multiple gold medalist Martin Sheridan of the United States had retired in 1911, leaving the competition "wide-open."
Canada, Luxembourg, Russia, and Turkey each made their debut in the men's discus throw. Greece and the United States each made their fifth appearance, having competed in every edition of the Olympic men's discus throw to date.

## Competition format

The competition continued to use the single, divided-final format in use since 1896. Each athlete received three throws, with the top three receiving an additional three throws. Ties were broken by an additional throw. The landing area was a 90 degree sector.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.
| World record | James Duncan (USA) | 47.58 | New York, United States | 27 May 1912 |
| Olympic record | Martin Sheridan (USA) | 40.89 | London, Great Britain | 16 July 1908 |
Armas Taipale ended the competition with the new Olympic record at 45.21 metres, with seven men bettering the old record.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Friday, 12 July 1912 | | Qualifying Final |

## Results

No fewer than seven throwers beat the old Olympic record of 40.89 metres, beginning with Duncan and Niklander's first throws. Niklander's was the best of the round. The second throw resulted in Mucks joining those who beat the old record, while Taipale, Byrd, and Duncan beat even the new one, with Taipale's 43.91 metres setting a mark no other thrower would reach. Philbrook and Tronner beat the old record in the third throw, but neither was able to break into the top three. Niklander, after his first throw, was unable to make another legal mark and fell to fourth, where he finished.
In the final, Byrd and Duncan were unable to improve upon their previous marks, throwing shorter in their first throws and scratching in their second and third throws each. Taipale, on the other hand, regardless of the safety of his lead, threw even further in his first and then his third throw, finishing at 45.21 metres, nearly 3 metres ahead of Byrd.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Distance | Notes |
| | Armas Taipale | Finland | 36.94 | 43.91 OR | X | 44.34 OR | X | 45.21 OR | 45.21 | OR |
| | Richard Byrd | United States | 37.48 | 42.32 | X | 41.09 | X | — | 42.32 | |
| | James Duncan | United States | 41.61 | 42.28 | X | 41.33 | X | — | 42.28 | |
| 4 | Elmer Niklander | Finland | 42.09 OR | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 42.09 | |
| 5 | Hans Tronner | Austria | 39.97 | X | 41.24 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 41.24 | |
| 6 | Arlie Mucks | United States | 40.54 | 40.93 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 40.93 | |
| 7 | George Philbrook | United States | 38.14 | 38.55 | 40.92 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 40.92 | |
| 8 | Emil Magnusson | Sweden | 39.91 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.91 | |
| 9 | Rezsõ Újlaki | Hungary | 39.82 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.82 | |
| 10 | Einar Nilsson | Sweden | 37.26 | 38.77 | 39.69 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.69 | |
| 11 | Ralph Rose | United States | 37.24 | 38.82 | 39.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.65 | |
| 12 | Emil Muller | United States | 37.91 | 38.69 | 39.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.35 | |
| 13 | Michalis Dorizas | Greece | X | 39.28 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.28 | |
| 14 | Duncan Gillis | Canada | 39.01 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 39.01 | |
| 15 | Verner Järvinen | Finland | 34.15 | 38.60 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 38.60 | |
| 16 | Josef Waitzer | Germany | 38.44 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 38.44 | |
| 17 | František Janda-Suk | Bohemia | 32.41 | 36.83 | 38.31 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 38.31 | |
| 18 | Aurelio Lenzi | Italy | 35.58 | 38.19 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 38.19 | |
| 19 | Károly Kobulszky | Hungary | 37.81 | 38.15 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 38.15 | |
| 20 | Lawrence Whitney | United States | 34.87 | 37.91 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 37.91 | |
| 21 | György Luntzer | Hungary | 37.88 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 37.88 | |
| 22 | Avery Brundage | United States | 37.48 | 37.85 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 37.85 | |
| 23 | Gunnar Nilsson | Sweden | X | 37.44 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 37.44 | |
| 24 | Emil Welz | Germany | 36.16 | 37.24 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 37.24 | |
| 25 | Samu Fóti | Hungary | 35.51 | X | 36.37 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 36.37 | |
| 26 | Gunnar Bolander | Sweden | X | 36.22 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 36.22 | |
| 27 | Carl Johan Lind | Sweden | X | 35.04 | 36.07 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 36.07 | |
| 28 | Folke Fleetwood | Sweden | 32.09 | 32.89 | 35.06 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 35.06 | |
| 29 | Josef Schäffer | Austria | X | 34.87 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 34.87 | |
| 30 | André Tison | France | 34.73 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 34.73 | |
| 31 | Marcel Pelletier | Luxembourg | 33.73 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 33.73 | |
| 32 | Walter Henderson | Great Britain | X | 33.61 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 33.61 | |
| 33 | Mór Kóczán | Hungary | 33.30 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 33.30 | |
| 34 | Mgirdiç Migiryan | Turkey | X | — | 32.98 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 32.98 | |
| 35 | Nikolay Neklepayev | Russia | 32.59 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 32.59 | |
| 36 | Charles Lagarde | France | 30.76 | X | 32.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 32.35 | |
| 37 | Henning Möller | Sweden | X | 32.23 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 32.23 | |
| 38 | Miroslav Šustera | Bohemia | 31.83 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 31.83 | |
| 39 | Ēriks Vanags | Russia | X | 31.34 | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 31.34 | |
| 40 | Otto Nilsson | Sweden | 31.07 | X | — | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 31.07 | |
| 41 | Paul Willführ | Germany | X | — | X | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | No mark | |
There were 32 non-starters.