I’ve never thrown a discus before, nor have I attended a discus throw, but I would imagine there is a lot of retrieving the said discus. Luckily, the Rio Olympics have these cute little remote controlled trucks to speed up the task.
The idea first started at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reports SportingNews, as “rocket-shaped buggies used to carry javelins back-and-forth.” At the 2012 London Olympics, they were little Mini Coopers that helped bring hammers, discuses and shots across the field.
This year, they are little green pickup trucks with slots in the back for a discus. The design language is intentionally kept nondescript and vague because the Olympic playing fields are supposed to be kept advertisement-free.
Here they are in action:
Last weekend, Germany’s Christoph Harting won a gold medal in discus throw, with a distance of 68.37 meters. Imagine having to retrieve the discus from the landing spot and then walking all the way back to the discus cage. It sounds exhausting! Good thing there is a little truck to do it with.