by Alfonz Juck
Ryan Crouser, May 2019, Track & Field News, courtesy of trackandfieldnews.com
This was pleasant news to know that Ryan Crouser, Rio Gold medalist, WC silver medalist, is thinking he has 3 more Olympics and 5 world Champs! More shot put rivalries! Is this a great world or what?
Crouser thinks even 2028
Ryan Crouser, 2017, photo by Mike Deering / The Shoe addicts
PORTLAND (USA): Olympic shot put winner Ryan Crouser said for Portland Tribune from his home in Fayetteville: “I have mixed feelings. It’s a little bit tough as an Olympic athlete; four years is a long time. You’re marking your calendar for the next time. It’s frustrating because I felt I was in a good place, but it was a good call (to postpone). I will still have the opportunity to compete next year. Give it a year. I’m hoping by early (this) summer we’re back to life as we know it and all the athletes will have an equal opportunity to train for next year.” Many shot putters are competing at world-class levels well into their thirties. Crouser will be 31 at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, 35 at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. “I’ll keep doing this as long as I feel like I’m improving, and as long as my heart is really in it,” he said. “Once the passion for it goes away, it’s a tough thing to fake. I still really enjoy it, going out there every day to practice. I’d like to make the team and compete in an Olympics on American soil in 2028. It’s a long ways away, but that’s a dream of mine.” Writes Portland Tribune.
Ryan Crouser, 2018 USATF, photo by Mike Deering /The Shoe Addicts
