Question of the Day

Men's Shot Put

by Mark Cullen

“There’s your trivia question of the day,” I said to Track and Field News Editor, Sieg Lindstrom.

“When has an athlete won a World or Olympic title with a single-meet season?”

 Neither of us could come up with one – except for the history just made in front of us.

World record holder, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and now three-time World champion Ryan Crouser accomplished that feat in a shot put competition so dramatic it reminded many of the legendary 2019 Doha competition, when 2cm separated the top 3.

In his first meet of the season due to recovery from an elbow injury, Crouser allowed the field to nip at his heels through four rounds; he settled matters in the 5^th with his 22.34 (73-3½), and in the end, no one else broke 22.00 (72-2¼) meters.

To add to the excitement here in Tokyo, of the six finalists, 3 rose to get their best marks in the 5^th round while two got their best in the 6^th.

How close was it?

 New Zealand’s Tom Walsh had the third-best throw but finished 4^th.

Huh? For those of you new to the event, we do this all the time!

Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri and Walsh tied at 21.94 (71-11¾), but Fabbri was 3^rd on the countback with a better second throw, 21.83 (71-1½) - 21.58 (70-9 ¾).

Had Walsh been a centimeter farther on his last throw, he would have won bronze.

In the same ‘can you top this’ spirit of Doha, Mexico’s Uziel Munoz won the silver with a last-round personal best and national record of 21.97 (72-1).

Meanwhile, this outcome: Crouser – Munoz – Fabbri is so unlikely that anyone who called it should definitely invest in a lottery ticket.

“It’s never fun to open the season with the World Championships,” said Crouser in the post-meet stadium interview.

Except when that opener closes so well.

Ryan Crouser

photo: Mattia Ozbot for World Athletics