“It was kind of a fake it till you make it,” said Ryan Crouser after pushing through an elbow injury that had kept him on the disabled list all year.(JEFF COHEN)
THE BEST SHOT PUTTERS in the world may be forgiven for thinking they had a chance to beat Ryan Crouser. The winner of the last 5 major outdoor golds had not even thrown in a standard competition this season because of his injured throwing elbow. The status of that joint remained a mystery to everyone outside of Crouser’s camp. Any wannabe podium topper had to figure, if not now, when?
Crouser proved his fitness in qualifying by lobbing one out to 70-1½ (21.37), just past the auto-qualifier. Teammate Tripp Piperi threw farther at 70-5¼ (21.47), and Kiwi Tom Walsh led at 71-4 (21.74).
In the final, Walsh quickly jumped into gold position with his season best 71-11¾ (21.94). Then Crouser stepped up, beginning his spin more slowly than usual. He punched it to 70-3 (21.41).
In round 2, Crouser spun faster to put himself in the lead with a 72-1¾ (21.99). World leader Leonardo Fabbri moved into bronze position with his 71-7½ (21.83). USATF champ Josh Awotunde got his best throw of the day, a 69-4¼ (21.14) that ultimately would place him 7th. The next stanza saw Crouser produce a 71-6 (21.79). Fabbri’s best throw of the day landed just barely outside the sector line. Piperi got his best, a 70-6½ (21.50); he would finish 6th.
Ten throwers continued in round 4. While Crouser fouled, the biggest marks went to Fabbri at 70-10 (21.59) and Mexico’s Uziel Muñoz at 70-6½ (21.50).
Round 5, with 8 throwers, put the heat on the defending champion. First Walsh exploded to 71-11¾ (21.94) to move to 2nd before skipping out of the ring in celebration. Then Fabbri matched that distance a throw later, bumping ahead on the next-best mark. For Crouser, this was all too close for comfort and he responded with a huge 73-3½ (22.34).
Muñoz shocked the most out of the 6 throwers in the final round. He blasted a 72-1 (21.97) which held up for silver, pushing Walsh off the podium. When the throwing was done, Crouser, careful of his elbow, declined his final toss.
“Every championship has a different aspect to it but this one is the one I am most proud of,” said the winnerr. “I really didn’t know what kind of shape I was in. It was kind of a fake it till you make it. There has been a lot of doubt to be honest. We left one of the best in the world at home so I felt like I owed it to Joe [Kovacs] to come out here and execute.”
MEN’S SHOT RESULTS
FINAL (September 13)
1. Ryan Crouser (US) 73-3½ (22.34)
(70-3, 72-1¾, 71-6, f, 73-3½, p) (21.41, 21.99, 21.79, f, 22.34, p);
2. Uziel Muñoz (Mex) 72-1 (21.97) NR
(67-6¼, 69-10¼, f, 70-6½, 70-5¼, 72-1) (20.58, 21.29, f, 21.50, 21.47, 21.97);
3. Leonardo Fabbri (Ita) 71-11¾ (21.94)
(69-9, 71-7½, f, 70-10, 71-11¾, 69-0) (21.26, 21.83, f, 21.59, 21.94, 21.03);
4. Tom Walsh (NZ) 71-11¾ (21.94)
(70-9¾, f, 67-11¾, 69-6¼, 71-11¾, 69-2) (21.58, f, 20.72, 21.19, 21.94, 21.08);
5. Chuk Enekwechi (Ngr) 70-7¼ (21.52)
(68-7, f, 67-6¾, 70-¼, f, 70-7¼) (20.90, f, 20.59, 21.34, f, 21.52);
6. Tripp Piperi (US) 70-6½ (21.50)
(69-¾, 69-6¾, 70-6½, 68-10½, f, f) (21.05, 21.20, 21.50, 20.99, f, f);
7. Josh Awotunde (US) 69-4¼ (21.14)
(64-11¼, 69-4¼, f, 62-7¾, 69-3¼) (19.79, 21.14, f, 19.09, 21.11);
8. Scott Lincoln (GB) 68-10¾ (21.00)
(67-2¼, 68-10¾, f, 67-9¾, 66-5) (20.48, 21.00, f, 20.67, 20.24);
9. Konrad Bukowiecki (Pol) 67-9½ (20.66)
(66-3¼, 67-0, 67-8¾, 67-9½) (20.20, 20.42, 20.64, 20.66);
10. Marcus Thomsen (Nor) 67-4¼ (20.53)
(f, f, 66-11½, 67-4¼) (f, f, 20.41, 20.53);
11. Wictor Petersson (Swe) 66-9¼ (20.35)
(65-7, 66-9¼, 66-8) (19.99, 20.35, 20.32);
12. Tomáš Staněk (CzR) 65-4 (19.91)
(f, 64-5, 65-4) (f, 19.63, 19.91).
QUALIFYING (September 13; auto-qualifier 70-½/21.35)
Qualifiers: Walsh 71-4 (21.74); Piperi 70-5¼ (21.47); Crouser 70-1½ (21.37); Petersson 69-4¼ (21.14); Lincoln 68-10¾ (21.00); Fabbri 68-8¾ (20.95); Enekwechi 68-4¼ (20.83); Awotunde 68-2¼ (20.78); Muñoz 68-1¾ (20.77); Staněk 67-9¾ (20.67); Thomsen 67-2¼ (20.48); Bukowiecki 66-10½ (20.38);
Non-Qualifiers: Andrei Toader (Rom) 66-10½ (20.38), Nick Ponzio (Ita) 66-8¾ (20.34), Nick Palmer (NZ) & Armin Sinančević (Ser) 66-2½ (20.18), Jialiang Xing (Chn) & Haochen Zhang (Chn) 65-5 (19.94), Zane Weir (Ita) 65-3¼ (19.89), Mohammad Reza Tayebi (Irn) 65-1½ (19.85), Willian Dourado (Bra) & Payton Otterdahl (US) 64-10¾ (19.78), Tsanko Arnaudov (Por) 64-3¼ (19.59), Hamza Mohamed (Egy) 63-11½ (19.49), Giorgi Mujaridze (Geo) 63-5½ (19.34), Aiden Smith (SA) 63-4¾ (19.32), Juan C. Vázquez (Cub) 63-¼ (19.21), Eric Favors (Ire) 62-11½ (19.19), Jesper Arbinge (Swe) 62-5¼ (19.03), Chris Van Niekerk (SA) 61-8½ (18.81), Ali Peker (Tur) 60-3 (18.36), Mohamed Daouda Tolo (Sau) 59-4 (18.08);… 3f—Artem Levchenko (Ukr), Djimon Gumbs (BVI), Mesud Pezer (Bos).
* = progression of the leading throw; ¶ = athlete’s best of the day
first 3 rounds
Piperi
21.05*
21.20
21.50¶
Walsh
21.58*
f
20.72
Crouser
21.41
21.99*
21.79
Fabbri
21.26
21.83
f
Petersson
19.99
20.35
20.32
Enekwechi
20.90
f
20.59
Lincoln
20.48
21.00¶
f
Awotunde
19.79
21.14¶
f
Stanek
f
19.63
19.91
Muñoz
20.58
21.29
f
Bukowiecki
20.20
20.42
20.64
Thomsen
f
f
20.41
round 4
Thomsen
20.53
Bukowiecki
20.66
Enekwechi
21.34
Lincoln
20.67
Awotunde
19.09
Muñoz
21.50
Piperi
20.99
Walsh
21.19
Fabbri
21.59
Crouser
f
round 5
Enekwechi
f
Lincoln
20.24
Awotunde
21.11
Muñoz
21.47
Piperi
f
Walsh
21.94¶
Fabbri
21.94¶
Crouser
22.34¶*
last round
Enekwechi
21.52¶
Piperi
f
Muñoz
21.97¶
Walsh
21.08
Fabbri
21.03
Crouser
p
Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.
Post navigation
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
