Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

This was the 20th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. None of the finalists from the 1980 Games returned, mainly due to the Soviet-led boycott. The 1980 silver medalist Imrich Bugár of Czechoslovakia had won the first world championships in 1983, as well as the 1982 European championships; bronze medalist Luis Delís of Cuba was the 1983 Pan American champion; and fifth-place finisher Yuriy Dumchev of the Soviet Union set the world record in 1983. In their absence, the home nation American team was favored.{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/results/62896 |work=Olympedia |title=Discus Throw, Men |access-date=2 November 2020}}

The Bahamas, Egypt, Mauritius, and Samoa each made their debut in the men's discus throw. The United States made its 19th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final. In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 62.00 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieved that distance, the top 12 would advance. The results of the qualifying round were then ignored. Finalists received three throws each, with the top eight competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted.Official Report, vol. 2, p. 288.

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

{{World Olympic Record

| world_athlete = {{flagathlete|Yuriy Dumchev|URS}}

| world_mark = 71.86

| world_place = Moscow, Soviet Union

| world_date = 29 May 1983

| olympic_athlete = {{flagIOCathlete|Mac Wilkins|USA|1976 Summer}}

| olympic_mark = 68.28

| olympic_place = Montréal, Canada

| olympic_date = 24 July 1976

}}

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

The qualifying round was held on August 8, 1984.

• 1982 Men's European Championships Discus Throw (Athens)
• 1983 Men's World Championships Discus Throw (Helsinki)
• 1984 Men's Friendship Games Discus Throw (Moscow)
• 1986 Men's European Championships Discus Throw (Stuttgart)
• 1987 Men's World Championships Discus Throw (Rome)

{{reflist}}

• [http://sportslion.net/track/halloffame/LA1984/LA84-discusm.html Results]

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{{Footer Olympic Champions Discus Throw Men}}

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Category:Discus throw at the Olympics

Category:Men's events at the 1984 Summer Olympics