The women's shot put event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 30 July and 1 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium.

[2] On the first throw of the final Raven Saunders dropped a 19.65m, which proved sufficient to nail down silver.

In the fifth round, Saunders threw her best 19.79m, but on the next throw, Gong hit 20.53 to extend her lead.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 29 June 2021.

The world rankings period start date was also changed from 1 May 2019 to 30 June 2020; athletes who had met the qualifying standard during that time were still qualified, but those using world rankings would not be able to count performances during that time.

The qualifying time standards could be obtained in various meets during the given period that have the approval of the IAAF.