Eugene: Ryan Crouser broke the 31-year-old record on Friday with a 23.37m throw on the first night of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
The 28-year-old reigning Olympic champion exceeded fellow American Randy Barnes’ previous record of 23.12m, which had stood for more than 30 years, electrifying the crowd inside Eugene, Oregon’s, Hayward Field.
On Day 1 of US Olympic Trials, he heaved the massive medal sphere 76 feet, 8 1/4 inches (23.37 meters) to put his name in the record book and punch his ticket to Tokyo.
Crouser, who was second to Kovacs at world championships in Doha in 2019, didn’t miss a day of training in 2020, even with the coronavirus pandemic shutting things down across the globe. He built a homemade shot-put ring that he constructed out of two sheets of plywood and screws from Home Depot.
The opening day of trials also featured strong first-round performances from world 800-meter champion Donavan Brazier and sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who chose orange as the hair color of the day and turned in the fastest 100-meter time (10.84 seconds).
High jumper Vashti Cunningham — the daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham — easily qualified for the final and discus thrower Valarie Allman set a meet record with her throw of 229- 8 (70.01) in qualifying.
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