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The first world record in the men's discus was recognised by the International Association of Amateur Athletics (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, in 1912, and was set by James Duncan in 1912 (47.58 m).

As of 2024, 42 world records have been ratified by World Athletics in the event. Another 14 are acknowledged but are unofficial, since they were set before the founding of IAAF.

Outdoor progression

Mark	Athlete	Date	Location	Ref
47.58 m (156 ft 1 in)	James Duncan (USA)	27 May 1912	New York City
47.61 m (156 ft 2+1⁄4 in)	Thomas Lieb (USA)	14 September 1924	Chicago
47.89 m (157 ft 1+1⁄4 in)	Glenn Hartranft (USA)	2 May 1925	San Francisco
48.20 m (158 ft 1+1⁄2 in)	Bud Houser (USA)	3 April 1926	Palo Alto
49.90 m (163 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Eric Krenz (USA)	9 April 1929
51.03 m (167 ft 5 in)		17 May 1930
51.73 m (169 ft 8+1⁄2 in)	Paul Jessup (USA)	23 August 1930	Pittsburgh
52.42 m (171 ft 11+3⁄4 in)	Harald Andersson (SWE)	25 August 1934	Oslo
53.10 m (174 ft 2+1⁄2 in)	Willy Schröder (GER)	28 April 1935	Magdeburg
53.26 m (174 ft 8+3⁄4 in)	Archie Harris (USA)	20 June 1941	Palo Alto
53.34 m (175 ft 0 in)	Adolfo Consolini (ITA)	26 October 1941	Milan
54.23 m (177 ft 11 in)		14 April 1946
54.93 m (180 ft 2+1⁄2 in)	Bob Fitch (USA)	8 June 1946	Minneapolis
55.33 m (181 ft 6+1⁄4 in)	Adolfo Consolini (ITA)	10 October 1948	Milan
56.46 m (185 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	9 July 1949	Lisbon
56.97 m (186 ft 10+3⁄4 in)		14 August 1949	Hämeenlinna
57.93 m (190 ft 1⁄2 in)	Sim Iness (USA)	20 June 1953	Lincoln
58.10 m (190 ft 7+1⁄4 in)	Fortune Gordien (USA)	11 July 1953	Pasadena
59.28 m (194 ft 5+3⁄4 in)		22 August 1953
59.91 m (196 ft 6+1⁄2 in)	Edmund Piątkowski (POL)	14 June 1959	Warsaw
59.91 m (196 ft 6+1⁄2 in)	Rink Babka (USA)	12 August 1960	Walnut
60.56 m (198 ft 8+1⁄4 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	11 August 1961	Frankfurt, West Germany
60.72 m (199 ft 2+1⁄2 in)		20 August 1961	Brussels, Belgium
61.10 m (200 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	18 May 1962	Los Angeles
61.64 m (202 ft 2+3⁄4 in)	Vladimir Trusenyev (USSR)	4 June 1962	Leningrad, USSR
62.45 m (204 ft 10+1⁄2 in)	Al Oerter (USA)	1 July 1962	Chicago
62.62 m (205 ft 5+1⁄4 in)		27 April 1963	Walnut
62.94 m (206 ft 5+3⁄4 in)		25 April 1964
64.55 m (211 ft 9+1⁄4 in)	Ludvik Danek (TCH)	2 August 1964	Turnov, Czechoslovakia
65.22 m (213 ft 11+1⁄2 in)		12 October 1965	Sokolov, Czechoslovakia
66.54 m (218 ft 3+1⁄2 in)	Jay Silvester (USA)	25 May 1968	Modesto
68.40 m (224 ft 4+3⁄4 in) A		18 September 1968	Reno
68.40 m (224 ft 4+3⁄4 in)	Ricky Bruch (SWE)	5 July 1972	Stockholm
68.48 m (224 ft 8 in)	John van Reenen (RSA)	14 March 1975	Stellenbosch
69.08 m (226 ft 7+1⁄2 in)	John Powell (USA)	3 May 1975	Long Beach
69.18 m (226 ft 11+1⁄2 in)	Mac Wilkins (USA)	24 April 1976	Walnut
69.80 m (229 ft 0 in)		1 May 1976	San Jose
70.24 m (230 ft 5+1⁄4 in)
70.86 m (232 ft 5+3⁄4 in)
71.16 m (233 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR)	9 August 1978	Berlin
71.86 m (235 ft 9 in)	Yuriy Dumchev (USSR)	29 May 1983	Moscow
74.08 m (243 ft 1⁄2 in)	Jürgen Schult (GDR)	6 June 1986	Neubrandenburg, East Germany
74.35 m (243 ft 11 in)	Mykolas Alekna (LTU)	14 April 2024	Ramona

On 7 July 1981 Ben Plucknett of the United States won a meet in Stockholm with a world record throw of 72.34 m (237 ft 4 in), but the record was nullified by the I.A.A.F. one week later when they announced that Plucknett had tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nortestosterone.

Indoor world best progress

Record	Athlete	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
66.20 m (217 ft 2+1⁄4 in)	Wolfgang Schmidt (GDR)	9 January 1980		Berlin, Germany
69.51 m (228 ft 1⁄2 in)	Gerd Kanter (EST)	22 March 2009	World Record Indoor Challenge	Växjö, Sweden

References

1. "World Record Progression of Discus Throw". World Athletics. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
2. M Discus world record progress Archived 2012-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Alekna breaks discus world record with 74.35m in Oklahoma". World Athletics. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
4. "Top Lists: Discus Throw - Men - Senior - Outdoor". IAAF Athletics: Records and Lists. International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
5. Litsky, Frank (2002-11-22). "Obituaries: Ben Plucknett, 48, Track Star Who Lost Record After Drug Test". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
6. "Live from Växjö!". www.team75plus.com. 2009-03-22. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
7. "Kanter throws 69.51m world indoor best in Växjö". IAAF. 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2010-03-28.

• Discus throw records IAAF.org

• Men's world athletics record progressions
• World records in athletic throwing
• Discus throw
• Men's athletics