Discus throwing is not only a high physical art, but also requires an understanding of physics. Lukas Weißhaidinger will demonstrate it at the World Championships in Eugene, and experimental physicist Werner Gruber will explain the process.
Lukas Weisshaidinger made it. Austria’s discus giant is in the final of the top 12 at the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene, Oregon, USA ) right on the first try. He threw his discus 66.51 meters. 66 meters were necessary, the Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna reached the best with 68.91 meters. However, if Weißhaidinger, 1.97 meters tall and weighing 150 kilograms, wants to land on the podium again, an increase in performance is required.
Discus throwing is of course a fine art. Really big and very strong athletes practice for hours, every day. They stand in a throwing circle that is 2.5 meters in diameter. You pull out, turn around your own axis faster and faster in a controlled manner and finally, after almost three seconds, two steps and one and a half revolutions, throw the two-kilogram discus (diameter 21.9 cm; height 4.4 cm in the middle) in the most correct way possible angle and at maximum speed into the marked field.