Razorback track & field assistant wins third-consecutive Olympic gold medal in shot put

PARIS (KNWA) — Razorback track & field assistant Ryan Crouser made history in Paris on Saturday becoming the first athlete to win three consecutive gold medals in shot put.

Crouser, 31, clinched gold medal number three with a throw of 22.90 meters , after winning gold in Rio and Tokyo .

His fellow countryman Joe Kovacs won his third-consecutive silver medal with a 22.15m toss on his sixth attempt through the rain at Stade de France.

Crouser’s win on Saturday broke a consecutive-gold tie he held with shot putters Ralph Rose (1904, 1908), Parry O’Brien (1952, 1956) and Tomasz Majewski (2008, 2012).

NBC News said Crouser was able to keep his grasp on the shot put event at the Olympics despite rethinking a throwing routine that had already earned him gold in Rio and Tokyo.

Crouser is self-coached, and with a background in engineering and a degree in finance from the University of Texas.

He gets deeply analytical while practicing in his self-described “barn” near the University of Arkansas, according to NBC.

“Fayetteville, Arkansas, is filled with professionals who often overlap at the Razorbacks’ track, but Crouser’s comfort tinkering alone and his stature within the sport create a deference even other world-class athletes acknowledge,” NBC News said.

Crouser was the only American to win a gold medal in track & field in a jam-packed day of medaling events at Stade de France.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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