The most dominant shot putter in history eyes a third straight Olympic gold medal – if his body holds up

PARIS — The best shot putter in track and field’s history spent this spring and summer experiencing something unusual: vulnerability.

PARIS — The best shot putter in track and field’s history spent this spring and summer experiencing something unusual: vulnerability.

It all started in March, when Ryan Crouser injured the ulnar nerve in his throwing elbow. The next month, while bench pressing, he tore a pectoral muscle.

Doctors didn’t clear him to resume throwing the 16-pound metal shot until almost June. By late July, in his final warmup before the Paris Olympics, the Oregon native was beaten for the first time in nearly a year.

“There were some challenges this spring,” Crouser said. “To say the least.”

Ryan Crouser during the London Athletics Meet on July 20.Adam Davy / PA Images via Getty Images file When the 31-year-old American steps into the Stade de France ring in Saturday’s Olympic shot put final, it will be the ultimate test of a season he never would have predicted, one that has battered his body, if not his confidence. Because he could leave the night just as he’d imagined all along — as not only history’s farthest thrower, but its most dominant.

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/ryan-crouser-shot-put-olympics-rcna164889

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