Crouser delivers 'surreal' moment at Olympics

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Early in the summer of 2015, Ryan Crouser came to the U.S. Championships in Eugene and finished 12th in the discus. After finishing fifth at NCAAs a few weeks earlier, he didn’t even bother to compete in the shot put.

Crouser had lost weight and seemed to be losing the competitive streak that had driven his ambitions since high school.

“Things were rough. He was down,” Ryan’s father, Mitch Crouser, said. “I didn’t know if he’d continue. It didn’t seem guaranteed.”

Ryan Crouser’s triumphant march to an Olympic record and gold seems improbable given where he was physically and mentally just a year earlier, when it seemed he put down the throwing implements and spend more time salt-water fly-fishing from his float tube in the Gulf of Mexico.

Crouser’s talent has never been an issue. At 6-foot-7, with long levers, athletic feet and a precise understanding of the mechanics, his potential has been evident since before he arrived at Barlow High School in Gresham, Ore.

In the summer of 2015, Crouser turned his attention to a master’s program at the University of Texas in Finance. It was a program virtually guaranteed to land him a high-paying job right out of school. He dove into his studies and in the early fall he spent most of every day in the classroom.

Even though he still had a season of indoor track eligibility left at Texas, Crouser didn’t lift or pick up a shot until the end of October. When he did train, squeezing in an hour a day between classes, he was usually by himself. As Christmas approached, he entertained the idea of talking to interested NFL teams who were aware of his favorable testing numbers in the weight room and the 40-yard dash. Perhaps he could be a pass rusher in the mold of J.J. Watt – only slightly bigger.

In January of 2016, things changed. Former teammate Jacob Thormaehlen returned to Texas to train for the Olympic Trials and suddenly Ryan had someone that he could work out with and compete with.

“That flipped the switch,” Mitch Crouser said. “They were competitive but in a positive way. That was a huge turnaround.”

Crouser started getting more deliberate about eating and putting on more weight that he could mold into muscle. In his first competitive throw of the indoor season, at the Texas A&M Invitational, he threw 18.27 meters (59-11.25). He improved to 65-8.25 on his sixth and final throw and won the meet – still modest by his standards.

In March, Crouser won the NCAA Indoor title in the shot put with 21.28 meters (69-9.75). At the time, he weighed about 270 pounds.

Then, he went back to school to finish his master’s program, focused on completing the degree in a single year. Training returned the backburner.

In late May, Crouser completed his coursework. On May 28, with only a few workouts under his belt, Crouser competed at the Prefontaine Classic, his first meet as a professional. He threw 20.27 meters (66-6) for sixth place and was more than six feet behind 2015 world champion Joe Kovacs.

Crouser went to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, encouraged by coach Mac Wilkins, and went from three workout sessions per week to nine. He started throwing six days a week. And he kept eating, small meals of chicken, rice and salad – eight times per day.

At a warm-up meet in June in Chula Vista, before the Olympic Trials, Crouser PR’d three times in a single meet. He came to Eugene knowing he could throw 22 meters (72-2.25). 

“In a little more than a month, he made a year’s worth of progress,” Mitch Crouser said.

The Trials at Hayward Field, where the Crouser family legacy has been firmly planted for decades, was a special time. On the first night of the meet, Crouser beat Kovacs and won the U.S. title. A few days later, cousin Sam Crouser booked his Olympic berth in the javelin. Together, Ryan and Sam would follow in the footsteps of their uncle Brian, a 1988 and 1992 Olympian in the javelin. Ryan’s dad, Mitch, had finished fourth in the Olympic Trials discus back in 1984. Sam’s dad, Dean, has held the University of Oregon shot and discus records for more than 30 years but never competed at the Trials.

After his Trials victory, Ryan returned to Chula Vista and picked up his training again in preparation for Rio.

“I went down there again (to coach him) and he was at another level again,” Mitch said.

For the Rio trip, Mitch was Ryan’s officially credentialed coach. Dean was there in the same capacity for Sam.

Sam and Ryan were roommates and attended the Opening Ceremonies together. The U.S. team conducted training sessions at Escola Naval (Brazilian Naval School).

“We’d get there about 9 a.m., have a cup of coffee, have a training session for two hours, stop for lunch, and rest,” Dean Crouser said. “What (Ryan) was doing in practice, I don’t think that anyone in the world has done it. It was so good, so disciplined, and he was throwing so far. I was thinking to myself ‘I think this guy can stumble and get the silver medal.’ Everybody was looking at Joe Kovacs, but there was this 60-foot tidal wave coming up right behind him.”

They rehearsed the Olympic competition, practicing the throws that would be necessary to advance through qualifying, and then taking the six throws that simulate the final. Crouser was hitting two, three, four throws in a row over 22 meters. He was ready.

“For 10 days before the shot put, every day it was just on,” Mitch Crouser said of his son’s training. “I thought if everything goes good, he’s got a shot at (Ulf) Timmerman’s record. And what’s crazy is that when he was younger we modeled his whole technique after Timmerman’s Olympic record (1988). He watched it thousands of times.”

On Aug. 18, Ryan began competition at his first international overseas meet since the 2009 World Youth Championships. He took one throw in qualifying to advance to the finals of the Olympic Games.

Later that evening, just as Ashton Eaton was putting the finishing touches on his second straight Olympic decathlon gold, Ryan Crouser opened with 21.15m (69-4.75). Two other throwers, including Kovacs, passed him.

Then Crouser, weighing in at 297 pounds, went back into the ring and did the same thing he’d been doing in practice for the past week. He threw 22.22m (72-10.75). It put him into the gold medal position and then it help up through four remaining rounds. He improved to 22.52m (73-10.50) to break Timmerman’s Olympic record on his fifth attempt.

The rhythm that Crouser was able to find by ramping up the frequency and volume of his training, and the additional mass on his frame, took him to a level few have ever reached.

“It was just unbelievable,” Mitch said. “There is so much pressure at that level. It’s difficult when it comes your time and there is a 2 billion television audience. That’s what Ryan does, though. He’s good at holding it together.”

With the victory locked away, Ryan achieved what his father and uncles had only dreamed of. The word that Mitch and Dean used to describe the experience: Surreal.

Brian Crouser posted on his Facebook what it was like to watch his nephew win the Olympic gold medal:

“He not only planted his flag atop the highest mountain there is, but in some strange way, he completed the last chapter in our books as well,” Brian wrote. “We all grew up with the exact same hopes and dreams – to become an Olympic champion – and to get to take part in his ride was incredible. The execution of the plan he and Mitch drew up was more than impressive. Plan your work and work your plan – sounds simple, but incredibly hard to do on that stage.”

Ryan did not sleep after his victory. There was his medal ceremony, drug testing and media obligations that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. At 3 a.m. he met his family at their hotel and got his first chance to celebrate with them.

“It was a great experience letting them all hold the medal,” Ryan Crouser said.

By 6 a.m., Ryan was back to doing interviews.

The short time since the Olympics has been a whirlwind. He has had three different job offers related to his Finance degree. NFL general managers are calling. He has been asked to give motivational speeches. His contract with Nike has been re-tooled.

Ryan has been travelling most of the time. He flew from Rio to Chicago and then on to Paris for his first European Diamond League meet. He finished second to bronze medalist Tomas Walsh of New Zealand on Saturday by a single centimeter, throwing 21.99m despite no time to train or lift.

The Mayor of Gresham is planning a civic celebration for Ryan and Sam Crouser later this fall. Maybe by then, things will have died down a bit.

But for the Olympic champion, there is a sense that bigger things are yet to come.

“I’m just so proud of him for holding that together and being able to show that 100 percent of what you’re capable of,” Mitch said.