The optimal angle of Release in Shot Put

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the optimal release angle in shot put, showing that considering athlete height and initial velocity correlations aligns theoretical predictions with actual athlete measurements around 37-38 degrees.

Contribution

It introduces a refined model that incorporates athlete height and velocity correlations to accurately predict the optimal shot put release angle.

Findings

The simple textbook model predicts 45° as optimal.

Including athlete height reduces the predicted angle to about 42°.

Considering velocity and height correlations aligns predictions with observed 37-38° angles.

Abstract

We determine the optimal angle of release in shot put. The simplest model - mostly used in textbooks - gives a value of $45^\circ$, while measurements of top athletes cluster around $37 - 38^\circ$. Including simply the height of the athlete the theory prediction goes down to about $42^\circ$ for typical parameters of top athletes. Taking further the correlations of the initial velocity of the shot, the angle of release and the height of release into account we predict values around $37 - 38^\circ$, which coincide perfectly with the measurements.