Nearly three thousand years ago athletes gathered in Olympia to throw a round object as far as they could as part of the founding Olympic Games. The discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze. Discus throwing remains an Olympic sport, although in southern Italy a traditional sports aficionado has devised a somewhat more curious version. Using prickly pear leaves, a cactus plant found in the Mediterranean. 

Each year, tourists and local enthusiasts flock to a high point overlooking the Mediterranean to throw the prickly pears into the sea below. This year's event took place on August 18th in Palmi on a viewpoint overlooking the sea in Calabria, southern Italy.