Hand Taping for Shot Putters
BY THROWERS UNIVERSE
As Shot Put has progressed and developed over the years, so have the methodologies of athletes around the world. One way in which this is the case is the way athletes typically now tape/wrap their hands in the event.
These developments come to the forefront of the sport when professional athletes try out new taping patterns. One example of this is the taping of individual fingers. This was not commonplace ten years ago, but elite Shot Putters like Tom Walsh and Filip Mihaljevic have changed this.
Below is what Walsh uses to tape his hand and fingers...
VELCRO WRIST WRAP FOR SHOT PUT
As we can see, Tom Walsh does not require massive amounts of support via tape. He uses a regular velcro wrist wrap to secure his wrist and provide a small amount of extra tension in his wrist and a slight amount of tension in his fingers via the cohesive tape.
Overall, a very affordable set-up in order to throw.
Although Walsh was one of the first to use this taping method, he is not the only one that uses tape to his advantage.
USING LARGE AMOUNTS OF ATHLETIC TAPE
Two-time Olympic silver medallist Joe Kovacs was well known for using massive amounts of tape. Very much the opposite of Tom Walsh. Like Adam Nelson, Kovacs' hand was permanently swollen due to the vast amount of tape he would go through.
EXCESSIVE TAPING EXAMPLE
Above is an example of excessive use of tape in Shot Put. It is all about finding what is comfortable for each athlete. Kovacs has since moved onto a heavy-duty velcro Throvacs Wrist Wrap (unreleased) and no longer tapes his knuckles. (See below).
If an athlete uses zinc oxide tape, especially a significant amount – this can be expensive. Therefore, it's worth considering signing up to subscription-based retailers to save money.
HOW DO I USE ATHLETIC TAPE EFFECTIVELY?
Below is a video of 2004 Olympic Gold Medallist Adam Nelson explaining how to tape your wrist effectively.
BOXING WRAPS FOR SHOT PUT
On the other hand, Britain's own Scott Lincoln has used cotton boxing wraps for many years. Boxing wraps are a great alternative to tape and wrist wraps as they are very cheap, last extraordinarily long and can be adjusted during training/competition.
WHAT TAPES CAN I USE FOR SHOT PUT?
To summarise, there are many variations of how you could tape your hand.
WRIST TAPE FOR SHOT PUTTERS
- Velcro Wrist Wrap
- Zinc Oxide Tape
- Cotton Boxing Wrap
FINGER TAPE FOR SHOT PUT
- Zinc Oxide Tape
- Cohesive Tape
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