Olympic champion Ryan Crouser shatters own shot put world record

Olympic and world shot put champion Ryan Crouser produced a sensational performance to obliterate his own world record at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on Saturday.

The 30-year-old American star heaved a mammoth 23.56m throw at Drake Stadium to smash his previous world mark of 23.37m set at the US Olympic trials in Eugene in 2021.

Crouser, the 2016 and 2020 Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion, had signaled he was in the mood for a big performance with two earlier throws that broke the 23m-barrier.

But he brought the house down with a fourth throw of 23.56m that improved his previous world mark by a whopping 19cm.

Crouser said afterwards that his record was the result of a new throwing technique he has developed this year involving a “step across” – and warned he believes he can throw further.

“I’m really excited,” the 6ft 7in, 320lb man-mountain said. “I felt like I have a ton of power and I caught a big one but there’s still a lot more which is really exciting because I haven’t been throwing hard in training.

“I’ve been at 75% intensity, working on some technical stuff. Some of it stuck and some of it still needs improvement so I’m really, really excited for this as a stepping stone going forward.”

Although he has dominated shot putting for much of the past decade, Crouser said he is constantly innovating his technique in the quest for improvement.

“I’m always competing against myself whether it was in high school or in college - I’ve always felt like my goal is to throw a personal best.

“It’s such a special feeling to say: ‘Today I’m the best I’ve ever been’. That’s what continues to push me to be better.”

Crouser’s performance was the undeniable highlight of a high-caliber meeting that is part of a