The ancient Greeks have described this event better than any other. They used stone and then bronze disks between two and six kilograms in weight and 21cm to 34cm in diameter.

The discus first appeared in the Ancient Games in 708 BC. In 1896 the discus was included in the revived Olympic Games in Athens. Throws were made from a pedestal that measured 60cm by 70cm. At the same time, the Swedes were throwing the discus from a 2.5m square.

In 1897, in the USA, the event took place in a seven foot diameter circle, increased to 2.50m in 1908. The discus itself was standardised in 1907 at 2kg in weight and 22cm in diameter.From the original static throw of 1900, styles evolved through the Nordic swinging throw to the current style, introduced by Clarence Houser (USA) in 1926, of turning and skipping before release. Both hands contests, where aggregates were recorded, were organised until the 1920s, when single hand contests became the norm.

In 1954 the concrete throwing circle was introduced, greatly increasing the possible speed of rotation.The first recorded women's results, with a discus weighing 1.25kg, date back to 1914 (USA) with contests also held around the world using 1.5kg implements. A standard 1kg discus was adopted for the Olympic Games in 1928 while the IAAF ratified its first official world record in 1936.