The men’s Olympic shot put uses a 7.26-kilogram shot.
That weight is the standard senior men’s implement used in Olympic competition and is equivalent to 16 pounds. Athletes launch the metal sphere from a circular throwing area, using a pushing motion rather than throwing it like a ball. The shot must land within a marked sector for the attempt to count.
Shot put has been part of the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The event developed from older strength contests involving stones and later standardized metal spheres. Women’s Olympic shot put uses a lighter 4-kilogram implement, which is why the men’s and women’s weights are often confused.
The 7.26-kilogram figure is a mass, not a distance or a pound measurement. “7.26 pounds” is far too light, while 7.26 kilograms is approximately 16 pounds. Modern competition implements are manufactured to meet tightly controlled specifications for weight, size, and surface finish.