PARIS — The best shot putter in track and field’s history spent this spring and summer experiencing something unusual: vulnerability.
It all started in March, when Ryan Crouser injured the ulnar nerve in his throwing elbow. The next month, while bench pressing, he tore a pectoral muscle.
Doctors didn’t clear him to resume throwing the 16-pound metal shot until almost June. By late July, in his final warmup before the Paris Olympics, the Oregon native was beaten for the first time in nearly a year.
“There were some challenges this spring,” Crouser said. “To say the least.”
When the 31-year-old American steps into the Stade de France ring in Saturday’s Olympic shot put final, it will be the ultimate test of a season he never would have predicted, one that has battered his body, if not his confidence. Because he could leave the night just as he’d imagined all along — as not only history’s farthest thrower, but its most dominant.
“I can’t do exactly what I could do day to day when I was younger,” Crouser said. “But I still believe at the top end I can still be as good as I ever was, if not better.”
Crouser left no suspense in Olympic qualifying Friday night, with his first and only throw of 70 feet, 6 1/4 inches automatically advancing him to Saturday’s final. It also meant less wear and tear on his body.
Crouser has made Olympic history before. His record-breaking throw earned him gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, then he reset that record three times while repeating in Tokyo. Should he win in Paris as well, it would extend his control over the event to an unprecedented three consecutive gold medals, breaking the two-gold tie he holds with Ralph Rose (1904, 1908), Parry O’Brien (1952, 1956) and Tomasz Majewski (2008, 2012). A win would also widen the gap between American success in the event and everyone else. In 29 Summer Olympics, Americans have claimed gold 19 times.
Crouser owns 11 of the 20 farthest marks of all time, all of which were thrown between 2021 and this season. Only four men have thrown past 75 feet, 5 1/2 inches (23 meters) — and Crouser has done it nine times. The three others have combined for five. It is not as though Crouser has won multiple Olympic and world championships while beating up on inferior competition, either. Throwers owning history’s second-, fifth- and seventh-best marks are part of the Paris field. The U.S. has an outside shot of sweeping the medal stand.
“Every year I think if I can get a little bit better, the sport will get easier,” he said, smiling. “But every year the guys seem to keep up with me and even gain a little bit, so it’s been hard to pull away, but it does keep it exciting.”
