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.
This is the widest point of
my right leg sweep.
Compared to some other successful throwers, it is not so wide. This might have been due to the angle of my left foot. Early in my career, we tried to get my left foot pointing in the direction of the throw as I began my sprint, but that never quite worked for me. Turning my left foot more may have allowed me to achieve a greater radius with my right leg, but it made it harder for me to feel torque between my shoulders and hips.
So I would stop my left foot at the angle you see in this picture, and try to sweep my right foot just outside the rim of the ring while keeping a strong left hip. This combination allowed me to create maximum speed and power during my sprint phase.
You will also notice that my left arm
is fairly level, reaching out at right around shoulder height.
This is another cue to help achieve a balanced position through the entry phase. Strong left hip. Discus behind the right hip. Left arm level.
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