Third gold for Crouser in shot put; Mexican Muñoz, eighth

Paris. American Ryan Crouser extended his hegemony in the shot put by winning a third Olympic gold this Saturday at Paris 2024, confirming his absolute dominance in this discipline.

The 31-year-old Oregonian, whose start to the season had been marred by injuries, had a best distance of 22.90 metres, his best time of the season, which allowed him to lead a podium on which his compatriot Joe Kovacs (22.15 m) also chained together a third consecutive Olympic silver, while the bronze went to Jamaican Rajindra Campbell (22.15 m).

The tiebreaker between silver and bronze came about because Campbell had a worse second-best distance than Kovacs, who was virtually out of the medal race until her sixth and final throw, where she avoided disappointment.

At the same time, Mexican Uziel Muñoz He finished the competition in eighth place with a mark of 20.88 meters. This is the first time that a tricolor athlete has reached this Olympic final.

Afp Photo

Ryan Crouser, born 31 years ago in Portland, was the favourite and he did not disappoint, adding this title to his impressive collection of successes.

She dominated from the start of the competition, taking the lead in the standings with her first attempt (22.64 metres).

Her best distance of the evening, 22.90 metres, which is also her best mark of the year, was achieved on her third attempt.

In addition to the gold medals he previously won at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Crouser has won the last two outdoor World Championships (2022, 2023) and earlier this year was also crowned world indoor champion.

Added to this is his status as world record holder in the shot put, with the 23.56 metres he achieved last year in Los Angeles, which means his dominance in this discipline is absolute.

He welcomed the gold in Paris with joy, but he was already used to success after success, even though no one had ever won three consecutive Olympic titles in this event before.

Three years ago in Tokyo, he had provided one of the most emotional moments in athletics at those Games when he dedicated his success to his recently deceased grandfather, with a card that read: “Grandpa, we did it. Olympic champion 2020.”