Ryan Crouser (© WCH Oregon22)
There was no doubt Sunday night which country was the best shot put nation on the planet.
Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs and Josh Awotunde swept the medals for the United States men to highlight the third day of competition at World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at the reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
“The crowd was loud, they were into it and cheering every single throw,” said Crouser, who won with a championship-record throw of 22.94m on his fifth attempt. "And not just for myself but all of Team USA. It was the best shot putting atmosphere I’ve ever seen, and just such a fantastic night.”
The sweep by the United States was the first time in the 18th edition of the World Athletics Championships that one country took all of the men’s shot put medals.
“We always say we’re the best shot put country in the world, and tonight we actually proved it,” said Kovacs, who won the silver medal. “Ryan and I knew we were going to kind of battle it out, but there’s never a guarantee of a medal. Ryan and I are really proud of Tunde coming out here first throw and getting a PR and having three PRs.
“Now we have a sweep for the first time in the U.S. on American soil. It’s an amazing feeling because it’s something we always talk about, and today we finally executed it.”
Crouser was the gold medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He’s also the outdoor and indoor world record-holder, but he had never won an indoor or outdoor World Athletics Championships gold medal until Sunday.
“They joked that I was cursed and that it was not in the cards," Crouser said. “It was worth the wait to finally secure that world championship title in front of friends and family at a place that feels like home at Hayward Field.”
Crouser took the early at 22.21m, before Kovacs opened at 22.63m, and Awotunde threw 22.24m on his opener. Crouser took the lead back at 22.71m on his second throw, before Kovacs responded with a mark of 22.89m on his fifth-round throw. That was just off his personal best of 22.91m set on his final throw in Doha that gave him a one-centimeter win there over Crouser and Tomas Walsh of New Zealand.
“I think (Crouser), and I both felt we should have thrown the world record today just the way our training was going,” Kovacs said, “but it’s never the same when you get out there.”
Crouser responded as well, throwing 22.94m on his fifth attempt to pass Kovacs and break his World Athletics Championships record from Doha.
“It was such a special night here," Crouser said. “We talked about a Teams USA sweep for a long time in the shot put, and we knew it was possible because we’ve been so dominant in the event. Me and Joe have battled it out atop the podium for six years, back and forth, there’s been a lot of golds, a lot of silvers, and some bronzes.”
The bronze surprisingly went to Awotunde, who finished with a best of 22.29m and had three of his six throws past his previous personal best of 22.00m set in May of last year.
“This is my sixth championship (meet), and this is my sixth medal,” Kovacs said, “but I’ve never seen three American flags. It’s a really awesome moment for myself and just the shot put in general.”
Walsh finished fourth at 22.08m, and Brazi’s Darlan Romani, who upset Crouser to win the indoor World Athletics Championships gold medal in March, was fifth at 21.92m. Adrian Piperi, the other American in the field, was eighth at 20.93m.
By Ashley Conklin
