The event was won by Dallas Long of the United States, the nation's fifth consecutive and 13th overall victory in the men's shot put.

Long had broken the world record four times since the Rome Games and was favored, with the third American (teenager Randy Matson) a strong challenger.

[2] The Ivory Coast, South Korea, and Morocco each made their debut in the men's shot put.

The United States appeared for the 15th time, the only nation to have competed in all Olympic shot put competitions to date.

The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final.