Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs go gold-silver yet again in Olympic shot put

SAINT-DENIS, France - At some point during the past eight years, introduction became a hassle for Ryan Crouser. He would emerge from tunnel to track and pop his shirt or raise his arm or flex his biceps. And then he would hold an awkward stare into the camera as the announcer finished cataloguing the long list of accolades that made him the greatest shot putter who ever lived.

As he prepared to win his third consecutive gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Crouser devised a solution: He needed a pose he could hold long enough for Stade de France to learn about his medals and championships.

When Crouser emerged, he dropped to a knee and rested his chin on his right fist in the manner Rodin’s “The Thinker” - “Le Penseur” for the locals.

“Little shout-out to a French sculptor,” Crouser said. “That’s my all-time favorite. I like to think of myself as a thinker.”

Crouser added yet another title to his indomitable Olympic career, again topping the friendly rival who had the great misfortune of being born at roughly the time as the man who defined what is possible in the event. In a rain-stifled competition, Crouser claimed his third consecutive Olympic title, making him the sixth male American track and field athlete - and first since Carl Lewis - to win three straight Olympic golds in the same event.

Same as the first two, Joe Kovacs stood one spot beneath Crouser on the podium. Crouser won with a 22.90-meter (75 foot-1½ inch) heave, well short of the Olympic record he set in Tokyo. Kovacs bagged his third straight silver when his final attempt soared 22.15 meters (72-8) and vaulted him from fourth to his customary position, a dramatic attempt he savored more than many longer throws.

Crouser had won in Rio de Janeiro as an upstart. In Tokyo, he strung together the most impressive series in the sport’s history in the wake of his grandfather’s death. His gold at the Paris Olympics was valediction and testament to his resilience. He separated from his competitors in dismal conditions. The most impressive part was what it took to step into the circle.

“Throwing a 16-pound ball is not easy on the body,” Crouser said.

Crouser had for years battled through an injury to his elbow tendon that was manageable. While training in April, Crouser suffered a torn pectoral muscle that could have been catastrophic. He did not know whether he could compete at the U.S. Olympic trials or how his body would respond. He entered in the unfamiliar position of having just the third-longest throw in the world this year.

“It was a bit of a blessing to come in feeling just happy to be there,” Crouser said. “There were a number of times where I didn’t even know if I’d make the Olympic team. Would I be at a level to throw at the Olympic final?”

After Crouser hit his longest throw in his third attempt, the skies above Stade de France opened. The rain both prevented Crouser from challenging his record and effectively assured him victory.

Chalk caked on throwers’ necks, and their feet slipped on the slick circle. Nigerian Chukwuebuka Cornnell Enekwechi crashed onto his backside as he released his fourth attempt. Crouser stumbled out of the circle on his next try. In those conditions, 22.90 meters may as well have been a mile. Rain is more welcome at a wedding than at the Olympic shot put final.

All of that placed Kovacs in a horrible position. He had struggled on his opening throws, adrenaline causing him to lift up and out of his spin too soon. He sat in fourth place when his sixth and final throw arrived.

Kovacs watched the three throwers before him all slip and fall. Kovacs is the shortest man at major competitions, but he is also the strongest. The speed and force with which he throws at his most fierce allowed for the real chance of serious injury on the slick surface.

But he had not trained in his backyard back in Dublin, Ohio, during breaks when his kids napped so he could play it safe. He had not come to the Olympics to let someone else take his medal.

“For me, it’s more scary to not swing,” Kovacs said.

Kovacs made one concession that doubled as a mechanical fix. He slowed down his spin a touch. He threw more with guts than mechanics. When the shot left his hand, Kovacs somehow knew it would be good and launched into immediate, profane celebration. “NBC bleeped some things out there,” Kovacs said. The shot dented the wet grass 22.15 meters away, enough to pass bronze medalist Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica and American Payton Otterdahl for second place. It was shorter than his silver medal throw in Tokyo. It meant more.

“It was not a good technical throw, but it was an emotional throw,” Kovacs said. “I found a way to make it happen. I’m going to be more proud of that throw as a silver medal than all my other ones before.”

Said Crouser: “That was the most impressive throw I’ve seen Joe make.”

Crouser and Kovacs both declared their intention to keep throwing 16-pound balls for another four years. They already have dedicated themselves to perform at the apex of their sport for more than a decade. Crouser sleeps nine hours per night, coaches himself and never drinks aside from a 10-day bass fishing vacation.

“There’s maybe a little bit of craziness to keep on coming back,” Kovacs said. “It’s a lot easier to just say it was a good run.”

It may be craziest for Kovacs, who shows up at every major competition to find Crouser. Kovacs knocked Crouser off the top of a world championship podium once. For most of his career, he has been defined against the best ever. Kovacs is the only other man to surpass the world record Randy Barnes held for 31 years. It has earned almost exclusively silver.

“If either of us existed at separate points in throwing history, that person would be the greatest of all time,” Crouser said.

There can only be one greatest, though, and it is Crouser. After his final, cosmetic throw, Crouser raised his arms and held back tears. He made a slow walk around the rim of the stadium with an American flag around his back, slapping high-fives with fans in the first row, so much more than happy to be there.