Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games:

The competition was weakened by the Soviet-led boycott. The top throwers were the three Americans, Michael Carter, Dave Laut, and Augie Wolf, Italy's Alessandro Andrei and Swiss thrower Werner Günthör. Carter opened with 20.63 (67-8¼) to take the early lead. Andrei improved in both round two and three, his 21.26 (69-9) in the third round being the gold medal toss. Carter also improved in that round with 21.09 (69-2½), his best mark of the competition. Günthör was in third place (20.28 (66-6½)) until round five when Laut pushed the shot out to 20.31 (66-7¾) to move ahead of him. Wolf also passed him in the final round with 20.93 (68-8), just after Laut had improved to the bronze medal mark of 20.97 (68-9¾). Michael Carter turned to pro football right after the Olympics and won three Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers. He played nine years in the NFL, all with the 49ers. Among track fans, he is probably best known for the high school record he set with the 12-lb. shot in 1979. The record was 24.78 (81-3½) and has not been approached in the 30 years since. It was so dominant that many experts speculated that even the world's top adult throwers could not do better with the lighter shot.