Right foot pickup
One of history’s great discus throwers, Gerd Kanter was also a successful coach, guiding Kristjan Čeh to World Championship gold in ’22 and silver in ’23. Gerd has agreed to analyze his own technique, step by step, for readers of McThrows.
The right foot pickup is the point
where the throw can be wrecked if you are not on balance.
You must feel control of the entire system as the right foot leaves the ground. The upper body must remain slow and passive, and the left hip must remain strong with no breaking!
First, let’s review how we get to this point in the throw.
In Part 1 of this series, I explained the importance of a smooth, balanced windup.
As you see in the photo above, I tried to stay upright while swinging the discus behind me. My weight did not shift during this phase of the throw, and my left foot maintained a solid connection with the ground.
In Part 2 of this series, I emphasized the need to be strong with both hips when beginning the throw.
Of course, the weight must shift to the left in the position you see above, but we do not want the right knee and hip to turn as the left foot and leg open.
A cue that I used was to keep the right heel on the ground as long as possible as the left foot and knee turned so that when it did finally come off, the trajectory of the right leg would be out and around the left side as you see in the photos below…
At this point, I am on balance and in good shape to achieve a wide right leg sweep and to push off my left knee as I start to sprint through the ring.
Next time, I will explain the sprint to the middle!
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