This interview was done with Ryan Crouser, newly crowned gold medalist in Men’s shot put. The interview was done in the mixed zone by EBU RADIO.
There was a battle royale in the Men’s Shot put at the World Champs!
Joe Kovacs, two-time WC gold defending champion from 2019 and two-time Olympic silver
medalist, was not going to let Ryan Crouser win the only global accolade that he had not won as of
yet, the World Athletics Outdoor Championships.
Kovacs put on the pressure early and did not stop until the very end of the competition. Ryan Crouser had to throw his A-plus game, as Kovacs put it out 22.89m! Crouser countered with 22.94m, not only taking the gold in the Men’s shot put but also setting a Championship record, which Mr. Kovacs had set in Doha in that hot and humid championships in 2019.
Ryan Crouser is a student of the sport. The guy watches videos to see how he can improve. He dissects his throws and looks at his competitions forensically in order to add that bit of distance to take the shot put, that sixteen-pound ord, and put it into orbit.
Crouser loves competition. Don’t believe me? Watch his face. Watch how he relaxes when Kovacs pops it out there. Watch how he talks to himself, willing his spirit and his body to make the steel orb part of him and release it farther and farther into the stratosphere.
Ryan Crouser has two Olympic golds, World records indoor and out in the Men’s shot put, and now he has the World Championship shot put title.
And Ryan Crouser won his first World Championships gold medal in the Men’s shot put the old-fashioned way.
He earned it.
This interview with Ryan Crouser was done in the mixed zone on Day 3, by EBU RADIO.