TOKYO (Reuters) - Chasing the “bigger throw”, Ryan Crouser of the United States retained his title in the men’s shot put in Tokyo on Thursday, breaking his own Olympic record three times in the final as he grabbed gold with a mark of 23.30 meters.
He set the previous record of 22.52m at the Rio Games five years ago when he won the title.
His compatriot Joe Kovacs took silver and Tomas Walsh of New Zealand claimed bronze with a season’s best mark of 22.47. The final results mirrored the 2016 final.
It was the first time in any individual sports event at the Olympics that the same athletes won gold, silver and bronze in a specific event at consecutive Games.
After he won, Crouser held up a card to a camera that read “Grandpa, we did it, 2020 Olympic champion”.
Crouser, who broke the world record in June with a 23.37 mark, started the final in blistering fashion, breaking his Olympic record on his first attempt and then improving on it with his second.
For a moment, it looked like his own world record was in danger of falling.