Team USA's Ryan Crouser had a touching celebration for his late grandfather after defending his Olympic title.
Team USA’s Ryan Crouser has been breaking all kinds of shot put records this summer.
First at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in June, he destroyed the 31-year-old world record and set the new mark at 23.37 meters (or about 76.67 feet) while qualifying for his second Olympics.
And then Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s shot put final, the 28-year-old athlete from Oregon won his second Olympic gold medal with a huge 23.30-meter throw (76.44 feet) on his final attempt.
He broke his own Olympic record of 22.52 meters from the 2016 Rio Games in each of his six attempts in the Tokyo final before finishing with the second-best throw of all-time, just shy of his world record. It’s also only the third attempt ever to pass the 23-meter mark, per NBC.
After successfully defending his Olympic title, Crouser celebrated by pulling out a sign with a special message for his late grandfather: “Grandpa, WE DID IT, 2020 Olympic Champion!”
GRANDPA, WE DID IT!@RCrouserThrows is GOLDEN! #TokyoOlympics x @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/OcAtJjKmVV
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
Here’s Crouser’s final throw:
Ryan Crouser is now officially a TWO-TIME OLYMPIC CHAMPION.@TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics
NBC
https://t.co/prLiNjuJnV
NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/ltSpxg8BSk
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
As USA TODAY Sports reported from Tokyo, the two-time Olympic gold medalist said his grandfather, Larry Crouser, died the day before he left for the Olympics, and he was the one who got the two-time Olympic gold medalist into the sport at a young age.
Crouser called his grandfather his “biggest fan” and added: “I felt like he was here watching me.” More via USA TODAY Sports:
“He’s had a huge role in my throwing career. To lose him a week before the Olympics was obviously sad, but I feel like he was able to be here in spirit,” Crouser said.
After Crouser, fellow American Joe Kovacs won the silver medal with a 22.65-meter throw (74.31 feet), while New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh won bronze at 22.47 meters (73.72 feet).
Here’s a look at some of Crouser’s other throws from the Olympic shot put final:
Ryan Crouser is wasting NO TIME.
He just broke the Olympic shot put record on his FIRST THROW OF THE OLYMPICS. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/JccGj0pK55
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
Two throws.
Two Olympic records.That's all. What else needs to be said about Ryan Crouser right now? #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/jVtBlVo3Aw
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
