Former Texas track and field star Ryan Crouser became the first athlete to win three consecutive gold medals in the Olympic shot put, a story that started right after Crouser left Austin.
The 2015-2016 season had already been strong for Crouser since he won the NCAA championship with a 69.9-75 meters toss in the indoor competition. But after defeating then-reigning world champion Joe Kovacs, Crouser won his first national title and ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Fresh out of collegiate athletics, Crouser put his name in the record books. Not only did he win a gold medal in his first Olympic tournament, but he did so by setting a new shot put Olympic record of 22.52 meters. Crouser also became the first American man to win the event since 2004.
In 2021, Crouser faced the challenge of defending his title and earning a second consecutive gold medal in Tokyo. He succeeded, winning the gold medal and beating his previous Olympic record, setting a distance of 23.30 meters. Crouser’s performance in Japan was so impressive that he earned the title of World Male Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News and received the Jesse Owens Award from USA Track & Field.
2024 came along and with it came the opportunity of doing the unprecedented: winning a third consecutive gold medal in the event.
The people closest to this record had previously been Tomasz Majewski of Poland, who won in both 2008 and 2012 but fell to seventh place in 2016 and Parry O’Brien of the United States in 1952 and 1956, winning silver in 1960.
Crouser went into Paris after winning the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Indoor Championships in Glasgow, so recent success was on his side. However, Crouser had dealt with an injury just months before the Olympic tournament, and it looked like his career was over.
Yet, the injury only strengthened Crouser. He was forced to refine his technique as he couldn’t depend as much on brute strength, and that kept him ahead of the curve.
Only 0.75 meters separated Crouser and Kovac, who had fallen second to him consecutively in Rio and Tokyo. Paris was no different. Crouser’s distance of 22.90 meters earned him the gold — again.
The thrower, who won four NCAA championships in his time at Texas, became the fifth Longhorn in any sport to win a third-consecutive gold medal, joining a prestigious list with basketball player Kevin Durant, swimmers Ian Crocker, Gary Hall Jr. and Brendan Hansen, and track and field star Sanya Richards-Ross. But, he’s the first ever Longhorn to do it in an individual event.