Ryan Crouser

Ryan Crouser

Crouser at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	United States
Born	December 18, 1992
Height	6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Weight	290 lb (132 kg)
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Shot put Discus throw
College team	Texas Longhorns
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	SP: 22.52 m (2016) DT: 63.90 m (2014)
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put World Youth Championships 2009 Bressanone Shot put 2009 Bressanone Discus throw

Ryan Crouser (born December 18, 1992) is an American shot putter and discus thrower. Crouser won the boys' shot put at the 2009 World Youth Championships and is a two-time NCAA champion in the shot both indoors and outdoors. Ryan Crouser won the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympic Gold Medal in Shotput.

Biography

Crouser was born in Boring, Oregon on December 18, 1992.^[1] He belongs to a family of throwers; his father Mitch Crouser was an alternate on the 1984 Olympic discus team, his uncle Brian Crouser qualified for two Olympic teams in the javelin, his other uncle Dean Crouser was a good shot putter and discus thrower, and his cousins Sam and Haley are both javelin throwers.^[2] He took up track and field in fifth grade, but was initially not as good as his cousin Sam; he made his breakthrough in eighth and ninth grade.^[2]

In 2009, his sophomore year at Sam Barlow High School in Gresham, Oregon, Crouser set a national sophomore record with the 3.58 lb (1.62 kg) high school discus, throwing 202 ft 6 in (61.72 m); the mark was also the Oregon high school state record until Sam Crouser broke it the following year.^[2][3] Crouser won both the 5 kg shot and the 1.5 kg discus at the 2009 national youth championships, and was selected for the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy in both events.^[2] In Bressanone he took gold in the shot put, breaking the championship record with a 21.56 m (70 ft 9 in) put in the fifth round; in the discus he won silver.^[4]

Crouser's 2010 season was hampered by a foot injury.^[5] He returned to top shape in 2011, breaking the national high school indoor record in the 12 lb (5.44 kg) shot put with 77 ft  2 ³⁄₄ in (23.54 m); the mark placed him second behind Mike Carter's outdoor record on the all-time national high school list.^[5][6] Outdoors, he broke the national high school record in the discus, throwing 237 ft 6 in (72.40 m) to add one foot to Mason Finley's record from 2009.^[6] Crouser graduated from Barlow High after the 2011 season; he chose to go to the University of Texas instead of the family's traditional choice of Oregon.^[5]

Collegiate career

As a collegiate freshman with the Texas Longhorns, Crouser placed fifth in the shot at the 2012 NCAA indoor championships and fourth in the discus at the outdoor championships; he injured his hand at the NCAA indoor meet, and the injury also affected his outdoor season.^[7][8] Crouser suffered from infections during the next off-season, and his weight dropped heavily; he redshirted the 2013 indoor season to regain full health.^[8] He returned to action for the outdoor season, throwing a personal best 21.09 m (69 ft  2 ¹⁄₄ in) at the Big 12 conference championships; he won his first NCAA championship title in the shot put that summer with 20.31 m (66 ft  7 ³⁄₄ in), but only placed eighth in the discus.^[7][9] Crouser, who had been successful academically, began to struggle somewhat with the heavy workload during his second year at Texas; he had originally planned to major in engineering, but switched to economics after that year.^[10]

Crouser won his first NCAA indoor shot put title in 2014, throwing 21.21 m (69 ft 7 in) and winning by almost four feet.^[7] He was briefly the outdoor world leader after improving his personal best to 21.27 m (69 ft  9 ¹⁄₂ in) at the Texas Relays on March 28.^[7] At the Big 12 outdoor championships he set personal bests and new meeting records in both the shot and the discus, with throws of 21.39 m (70 ft  2 ¹⁄₂ in) and 63.90 m (209 ft 9 in) respectively; it was the first time he broke 70 feet with the 16 lb (7.26 kg) shot.^[10] Crouser won his second consecutive shot put title at the 2014 NCAA outdoor championships, with a heave of 21.12 m (69 ft  3 ¹⁄₂ in), but injured his foot in the process; he had also qualified for the final in the discus, but was forced to scratch from that event.^[11]

In 2015 Crouser placed second behind Stipe Žunić at the NCAA indoor championships, reaching 20.93 m (68 ft 8 in) on his best attempt.^[7] His chances of winning a third consecutive NCAA outdoor title were spoiled as he reaggravated an old thumb injury at the championships; he placed fifth in both the shot and the discus.^[12] Due to redshirting the 2013 indoor season, Crouser had one more winter of collegiate eligibility left; as a fifth-year senior, he threw a personal best 21.73 m (71 ft  3 ¹⁄₂ in) at the 2016 Big 12 indoor championships and won his second collegiate indoor title with a put of 21.28 m (69 ft  9 ³⁄₄ in).^[7] Crouser's Big 12 mark equaled Ryan Whiting's collegiate indoor record from 2008; he ranked second behind New Zealand's Tom Walsh on the 2016 world indoor list.^[7][13]

Professional career

Crouser completed his studies in 2016 and hired Paul Doyle as his agent.^[14] He improved his personal best in the shot to 21.85 m (71 ft  8 ¹⁄₄ in) shortly before the 2016 United States Olympic Trials; pre-Trials, he was ranked second on the American year list, eleven inches behind reigning World Champion Joe Kovacs.^[14] Then during the Olympic Trials, on his second throw of the finals, Crouser uncorked a 22.11 m (72 ft 6 ¹⁄₄ in) to not only win in an upset over Kovacs, but to become the number 18 thrower in history. He went on to throw a massive 22.52 m (73-10.75) at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games breaking the former Olympic Record and taking home the gold medal.

References

1. "Ryan Crouser – 2012 Men's Track and Field". TexasSports.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
2. Krider, Dave (May 5, 2010). "New generation continues Crouser family throwing tradition". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
3. Pfeifer, Jack (June 17, 2009). "Ryan Crouser, First Oregon Prep Discus Over 200 feet at Mac Wilkins All-Comers Meet in Portland, Or". MileSplit. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
4. Oddi, Vicky (July 11, 2009). "Crouser wins shot with championship record at World Youths". MileSplit. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
5. Mauldin, Tom (February 23, 2011). "With 1 record down, Ryan Crouser shifts to others". MaxPreps.com.
6. Shepard, Jack. "High School All-Time Top 10s – Men". Track & Field News. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
7. Tilastopaja profile for Ryan Crouser
8. "Ryan Crouser strives through injuries to earn Texas Relays win". The Daily Texan. April 1, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
9. Eggers, Kerry (June 7, 2013). "Dean Crouser on nephew Ryan: World record in 4–5 years?". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
10. Eggers, Kerry (May 27, 2014). "Is Ryan Crouser ready to take a shot at a collegiate record?". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
11. Goe, Ken (June 11, 2014). "Ryan Crouser of Texas wins the shot, but it's a painful day for the former Barlow star". OregonLive. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
12. Greif, Andrew (June 10, 2015). "Cousins Ryan and Sam Crouser share bittersweet day competing side-by-side at NCAA championships". OregonLive. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
13. Mills, Steven (February 28, 2016). "Maslak prepares for Portland with Czech 200m title – indoor round-up". International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Retrieved June 22, 2016.
14. Eggers, Kerry (June 21, 2016). "Ryan Crouser ready for shot at Rio Olympics". Portland Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2016.