Javelin, discus and shot put each use their own apparatus. The javelin runway is at least 30 m long and 4 m wide, and athletes throw from an 8 m arc into a 28.96° sector. The discus circle is 2.500 m across, while the shot put circle is a noticeably smaller 2.135 m, so the two are not the same ring reused. Discus and shot put share a 34.92° throwing sector, and only shot put has a 10 cm toe board across the front of its circle.
Court diagram
Full throwing event dimensions
Javelin, discus and shot put are grouped on this one page because none of them draws enough search traffic on its own to justify a separate page. The three apparatus do not share a footprint. Every figure below is read from World Athletics’ own Competition and Technical Rules, Book C2.1 (Rule TR33 for shot put, Rules TR34 and TR36 for discus, Rule 32 for javelin), plus its Facilities Manual chapter on throwing cages. The primary Technical Rules PDF did not return machine-readable text in this research pass. Before using any figure here, we cross-checked it independently against at least two further sources that cite the same numbered rules.
| Measurement | Figure | Applies to | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway length, minimum | 30 m (98 ft 5 in) | Javelin | Official rule |
| Runway length, minimum | 33.50 m (109 ft 11 in) | Javelin, World Rankings competitions | Official rule |
| Runway length, recommended | 36.50 m (119 ft 9 in) | Javelin, where conditions permit | Official rule |
| Runway width, minimum | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) | Javelin | Official rule |
| Throwing arc radius | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) | Javelin | Official rule |
| Throwing sector angle | 28.96° | Javelin | Official rule |
| Throwing circle, internal diameter | 2.500 m ± 5 mm (8 ft 2 1/2 in) | Discus | Official rule |
| Throwing sector angle | 34.92° | Discus | Official rule |
| Protective cage height, rear to mouth | 4.00 m rising to 6.00 m over the last 3 m | Discus | Official rule |
| Throwing circle, internal diameter | 2.135 m ± 5 mm (7 ft) | Shot put | Official rule |
| Stop (toe) board height | 10 cm (4 in) | Shot put | Official rule |
| Throwing sector angle | 34.92° | Shot put | Official rule |
Javelin: a runway and an arc, not a circle
Javelin is the one throwing event on this page that isn’t thrown from a circle. The runway is at least 30 m long and 4 m wide, rising to a 33.50 m minimum for World Rankings competitions and a 36.50 m recommended length where conditions permit, and ends at an 8 m throwing arc, a 7 cm white line whose center point lies on the runway’s center line. The throw is measured back to this arc, not to the end of the runway. It only counts if the tip of the javelin lands inside a 28.96° sector projected from the arc’s center.
Discus and shot put: two different circles, one shared sector
Online drawings get this wrong more often than anything else on the page: discus and shot put are not thrown from the same ring. The discus circle is 2.500 m across; the shot put circle is 2.135 m, noticeably smaller. Both use a 34.92° throwing sector, the same angle hammer uses (this site doesn’t cover hammer yet). Only shot put has a 10 cm-high stop board, curved to match the inner edge of the circle and fitted across the front of the circle only. Discus has no board of any kind.
Discus also requires a protective cage. World Athletics’ facilities guidance for throwing cages specifies a U-shaped net at least 4.00 m high at the rear, rising to at least 6.00 m for the last 3 m nearest the open mouth the discus flies through.
Frequently asked questions
Are the discus and shot put circles the same size?
No. The discus circle is 2.500 m in diameter and the shot put circle is 2.135 m. The difference is real and easy to miss, but these are two separate rings.
How long is a javelin runway?
At least 30 m long and at least 4 m wide, ending at an 8 m throwing arc. World Rankings competitions require at least 33.50 m, and 36.50 m is the recommended length where conditions permit. The throw is measured from that arc, not from the end of the runway.
What is the throwing sector angle for discus and shot put?
34.92° for both, projected from the center of the circle. Hammer uses the same angle, though this site doesn’t cover hammer yet.
Does discus have a toe board like shot put?
No. Only shot put has the 10 cm stop board, across the front of its circle. A discus circle has no board of any kind.
Official sources
- World Athletics, Competition and Technical Rules, Book C2.1, Technical Rules, 2026 in-force edition, Rule TR33 (shot put), Rules TR34 and TR36 (discus), Rule 32 (javelin runway and sector).
- World Athletics, Track and Field Facilities Manual, chapter 6.3, Equipment for throwing events (throwing cages), 2020 update.
These figures were checked against those documents on 10 September 2026. The primary Technical Rules PDF did not return extractable text in this research pass, so each figure was cross-verified independently against at least two further sources citing the same numbered rules before it was used here. The 30 m figure is only the general minimum: the same rule sets a 33.50 m minimum for World Rankings competitions and recommends 36.50 m where conditions permit, and this page publishes all three. The methodology page explains how each figure is dated and marked official or derived; report an error through corrections. See also the running track guide and the jumping events guide.