Ryan Crouser Breaks Olympic Record In Shot Put, United States Goes 1-2

Ryan Crouser was the No. 2 ranked shot putter in the world behind fellow American Joe Kovacs. That changed on Thursday evening, as Crouser set an Olympic-record with a massive heave of 22.52 meters (73 feet 10 3/4 inches). Ulf Timmerman’s previous record of 22.47 meters had stood since the 1988 Olympics.

Crouser and Kovacs entered the 2016 Olympics as favorites in the shot put, with Kovacs expected to repeat his gold from the 2015 World Championships. Instead, he’ll settle for silver, as his best throw of 21.78 meters (71 feet 5 1/2 inches) was more than two feet short of Crouser’s mark.

Crouser set the Olympic record on his fifth of six throws, and had previously set personal-bests of 22.22 meters and 22.26 meters on his second and third tosses. The 23-year-old Portland native appears set to dominate the event for years to come.