Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs Show Team USA’s Shot Put Strength With 1-2 Finish
From: Team USA Ryan Crouser had seen the throw thousands of times. The exact number escapes him, but the image of the throw is imprinted in his memory. The throw is East German Ulf Timmermann’s record shot put toss of 22.47 meters on Sept. 23, 1988, four years before Crouser was born. He has watched replays of that shot so many times that he used to base his technique off of it. Thursday, Crouser broke Timmermann’s Olympic record with a throw of 22.52 meters to win a gold medal in the men’s shot put at Olympic Stadium. “I’ve watched [Timmermann’s] throw probably 10,000 times,” Crouser said. “I thought that was one of the most beautiful throws I had ever seen. To break that record at the Olympics is truly special. Crouser’s gold medal is the 18th won by a U.S. men’s shot putter. Combined with Joe Kovacs , who won silver, they’re the first pair of U.S. shot putters to win gold and silver at the same Olympics since Randy Barnes and John Godina at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. “To see t...
