Ryan Crouser

Ryan Crouser is a shot putter and discus thrower from the United States. In both indoor and outdoor shot put, he is a two-time Olympic gold winner, Olympic record holder, and world record holder. On his fourth try in the US Olympic Trials on June 18, 2021, he threw 23.37m to break Randy Barnes’ 31-year-old record of 23.12m by over 25 cm. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, on January 24, 2021, he threw 22.82m to establish a new world indoor shotput record. Barnes achieved the previous world indoor record of 22.66m in 1989. Crouser also shattered the 32-year-old world record with a throw of 22.70m in the fourth round.

Crouser is the reigning Olympic champion for the second time in a row. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won gold in the shot put, setting an Olympic record of 22.52 meters. He successfully defended his Olympic title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting a new Olympic record of 23.30 meters. His six throws in the competition all surpassed his previous Olympic record from 2016.

World Athletics, the world governing organization for track and field, named him a finalist for Male Track & Field World Athlete of the Year in 2020. In 2020, he set a world record with a throw of 22.91 meters, which placed him third all-time in the globe. He was unbeaten in all ten meets, with 36 throws of 22 meters or more, including 14 throws of 22.56 meters, the most ever in a single year. Crouser has thrown 22 meters or more 104 times at the end of the 2020 season, the most in history.