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I was throwing in a college meet on Saturday and Harmon Brown— the legendary physician, track coach and sports medicine expert— mentioned that I was not using the right side of the circle effectively because rotating immediately out of the back. He suggest that I turn my feet out of the back and drive directly to the right of he circle at first rather than toward the center (left side when facing backward). I drove to the right side of the circle but continued turning until I could see the left post of the safety net. This had an amazing effect on my throwing. It gave me a longer pull, better balance, and much better separation. I started throwing 10 feet further almost immediately. Also, the discus flew high and flat, which I will need when I have to throw against Alwin Wagner in Italy in an enclosed stadium with little or no wind. This technique seemed to help some of the decathletes with whom I was working. Over rotating is a common problem among masters throwers and this technique is a quick fix.

I have had many technique epiphanies since I started throwing the discus in 1963, so only time will tell if this works or it's just my imagination. If it works, perhaps it will make up for some of my loss of strength, speed, and increased joint pain I have experienced in the past 10 years.

Tom Fahey M59 thrower

Hi Tom-I have a couple of questions

1.- Where does your right foot land?
2.- What is the angle from the front of the circle?
2.- And since you have moved the right where does the left land? is it in about the same spot as before?

1.- Where does your right foot land?
It lands in the middle of the circle with the left foot offset so that my hips can clear. I begin by driving laterally (my left when facing the back of the circle) but continue rotating on my left until I can see the left support on the cage (facing the direction of the throw).

2.- What is the angle from the front of the circle?
My line is through the middle and straight down the left sector line. This is the reverse 7 that John Powell talks about in his film.

2.- And since you have moved the right where does the left land? The left foot lands in the same spot. All the lateral movement at the back does is to make the turns more round. It forces the weight over the left leg at the back of the circle. For me, it only works if I am patient, rotate fully, and wait to see the focal point (cage post).

The change in throwing height has been remarkable. I have always thrown the discus fairly low. This change makes it go very high and flat with a lot of whip.

I had a very slow start this year and have been throwing in the mid 150s ( I threw over 50 meters at Antelope Valley in a monster wind). Yesterday, I threw 166 with a tail wind. Hopefully, the workout was not a fluke, but who knows? The timing feels awkward but I have a few months to work on it before Orano and Italy. I plan to train with John Powell and Dan John in Ohio, so maybe they can help me smooth things out.

Tom Fahey M59 thrower

Do you happen to have any video? If this holds true we will all be in real trouble in ME.

Hi Tom F-if you don't want those 150's I'll take them! I suppose it's all relative

Tom,

I read your post about driving to the right of the circle and getting a longer pull on the discus before release. I still had a hard time getting a good picture in my mind of what you were talking about. Then today when I was praticing I remembered you said the movement at the back of the circle makes the turns more round. With this thought, I swung my right leg out of the back of the circle in a wider arc "to make the turn more round" versus a straight line approach to the center of the circle. Bingo! My first throw was 7 feet further than my previous best practice throws. It does feel a little weird but my pull on the discus is longer and the turn more round out of the back of the circle. When I remember to
keep turning the right foot when it lands I can "feel" the discus more and hopefully tomorrow I can put both together and get another 3 feet. Thanks for the post.

Mike Thomason
M-57