(Los Angeles) American Ryan Crouser, two-time Olympic champion, improved his world shot put record with a throw of 23m 38cm on Saturday at the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho.
His throw, during an indoor rally, erases his previous record of 23m 37cm set outdoors and his previous indoor record of 22m 82.
A year ago, Crouser thought he had broken that record with a throw from the same distance at the Millrose Games, but a faulty laser measuring device caused the competition to be cancelled.
Crouser, 30, had achieved his indoor record of 22.82m in January 2021 in Fayetteville (Arkansas) and his world record of 23:37 in June of the same year in Eugene (Oregon), during the American Olympic selections.
The American, who won the world championships in Eugene last year, is now the author of 7 of the 11 throws over 23 m in the history of the discipline.
“(This is) the biggest surprise of my career so far. (I didn’t) expect to be 23:38 today,” Ryan Crouser said in an Instagram post.
“Training this week was a bit frustrating, I felt weak and a bit tired. I decided not to train on Thursday and Friday. I had never taken two days off in a row before a competition until today, but I thought it was better than overtraining,” he added.
For some time, Crouser has been experimenting with a new throwing technique, designed to generate more momentum and achieve greater spinning power. This new technique makes him move his starting point to the right and adds an extra step in the rotation.
However, he didn’t use this technique for his 23:38 performance at Pocatello, suggesting he could go even further if he perfected his new throwing style.
Crouser was raised in a family deeply rooted in athletics. His father, Mitch, was an alternate on the discus team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, while his uncle Brian was a two-time Olympian in the javelin throw and his cousin Sam represented the United States in the throw. javelin in Rio in 2016.