The men's discus throw was a track and field athletics

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics

These are the results of athletics competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. 30 events were contested, all for men only.The athletics programme grew by 4 events since the 1908 Summer Olympics. The 5000 and 10000 metre races were introduced for the first time, as the 5 mile event was eliminated...

 programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event, which is one of 12 to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Friday, July 12, 1912.

Forty-one discus throwers from 15 nation competed.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1912 Summer Olympics.

World Record	47.58	James Duncan James Duncan (athlete) James Duncan was an American athlete, a member of the Mohawk Athletic Club, the Bradhurst Field Club and the Irish American Athletic Club. He competed mainly in the discus throw. Duncan was a member of the U.S...	New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...  (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )	May 27, 1912
Olympic Record	40.89	Martin Sheridan Martin Sheridan Martin John Sheridan was "one of the greatest athletes [the United States] has ever known" according to his obituary in the New York Times. He was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland and died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the day before his 37th birthday, a very early casualty...	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...  (GBR Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... )	July 16, 1908

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 (all three of whom had scratched with their final preliminary throws, but still maintained top ranks). 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.

Place	Athlete	Preliminary				Final			Best mark
		1	2	3	Rank	4	5	6
1		36.94	43.91 OR	—	1st	44.34 OR	—	45.21 OR	45.21
2		37.48	42.32	—	2nd	41.09	—	—	42.32
3		41.61	42.28	—	3rd	41.33	—	—	42.28
4		42.09 OR	—	—	4th				42.09
5		39.97	—	41.24	5th				41.24
6		40.54	40.93	—	6th				40.93
7		38.14	38.55	40.92	7th				40.92
8		39.91	—	—	8th				39.91
9		39.82	—	—	9th				39.82
10		37.26	38.77	39.69	10th				39.69
11		37.24	38.82	39.65	11th				39.65
12		37.91	38.69	39.35	12th				39.35
13		—	39.28	—	13th				39.28
14		39.01	—	—	14th				39.01
15		34.15	38.60	—	15th				38.60
16		38.44	—	—	16th				38.44
17		32.41	36.83	38.31	17th				38.31
18		35.58	38.19	—	18th				38.19
19		37.81	38.15	—	19th				38.15
20		34.87	37.91	—	20th				37.91
21		37.88	—	—	21st				37.88
22		37.48	37.85	—	22nd				37.85
23		—	37.44	—	23rd				37.44
24		36.16	37.24	—	24th				37.24
25		35.51	—	36.37	25th				36.37
26		—	36.22	—	26th				36.22
27		—	35.04	36.07	27th				36.07
28		32.09	32.89	35.06	28th				35.06
29		—	34.87	—	29th				34.87
30		34.73	—	—	30th				34.73
31		33.73	—	—	31st				33.73
32		—	33.61	—	32nd				33.61
33		33.30	—	—	33rd				33.30
34		—	—	32.98	34th				32.98
35		32.59	—	—	35th				32.59
36		30.76	—	32.35	36th				32.35
37		—	32.23	—	37th				32.23
38		31.83	—	—	38th				31.83
39		—	31.34	—	39th				31.34
40		31.07	—	—	40th				31.07
41		—	—	—	41st				None