Ryan Crouser had his grandpa on his mind during historic three-peat Olympic win

SAINT-DENIS, France — Leading into the Paris Games, shot putter Ryan Crouser wasn't sure his aching elbow was going to hold up enough for him to compete, let alone defend his title.

It did. He would.

Crouser became the first three-time Olympic winner in the men's shot put Saturday night in the rain as his American teammate, Joe Kovacs, finished right behind him with silver for a third straight Olympics. Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica took bronze.

Coming out of the competition, Crouser is already thinking ahead four years to Los Angeles and the possibility of a four-peat. He’s just not ready to set down that shot put.

“This definitely was the sweetest victory of all of them,” the 31-year-old Crouser said. “Just overcoming the questions if I would be able to get to this point again.”

Crouser has dealt with one injury after another since aggravating the ulnar nerve of his elbow at world indoors in March. Then, he tore his pectoral muscle while bench-pressing in April. His nerve issue surfaced again and he underwent a procedure on his elbow in the spring where the doctor lifted the nerve out of the ulnar groove with a saline solution.

That’s all forced him to find alternative ways to work out. He’s rarely thrown on back-to-back days in the lead-up to Paris, something he had to do with prelims on Friday followed by Saturday's final.

He entered the competition with personality, even posing as the thinker as he was announced. 

But he wasn't sure of the elbow's status. His first attempt, though, went 22.64 meters.

Yep, it was just fine.

His longest throw of the competition was 22.90 meters. And while he didn't threaten his world (23.56) or Olympic (23.30) records, this mark meant a lot to him.

“There’s just overcoming self-doubt — can I get back to the level that I needed to be at to be competitive against these guys?” said Crouser, who dealt with a health scare last summer when he was diagnosed with blood clots before winning at worlds. “Shot is not an easy event. Right now, the past eight years have been the golden era of shotput."

Kovacs knows that all too well.

He's now been runner-up three straight times at the Olympics. But this silver he's particularly proud of. Because on his last attempt, he went from out of medal range to silver with a toss of 21.15 meters. Kovacs bumped Campbell to bronze and American teammate Payton Otterdahl off the podium.

“I’m never happy three silvers, but at the end of the day, I’m going to be happy about that last throw,” Kovacs said.

Crouser was impressed, too.

“In that sixth round, in the rain, to come from outside the medals to secure his third Olympic silver was the most impressive throw I’ve seen (Kovacs) take,” Crouser said. “He had to dig deep for that one."

Crouser now has the most Olympic gold medals in men’s shot, breaking a tie with Americans Parry O’Brien and Ralph Rose, along with Poland’s Tomasz Majewski.

Before the Tokyo Games, Crouser lost his grandfather, Larry Crouser, whose backyard was where Crouser first threw the shot put. He held up a sign after winning that read, “Grandpa, We did it, 2020 Olympic Champion!”

Grandpa was on his mind again.

“I felt like once again he was watching over me tonight,” Crouser said. “I’m lucky enough and blessed enough to have my family here and throwing being such a special thing for the whole family. It’s something that we can unite over and come together over.”

Possibly again in four years.