Reigning Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser of the United States set a new indoor world record, beating 32-year-old Randy Barnes with a 22.82-meter throw on Sunday in Fayetteville (Arkansas).
The 28-year-old American, crowned at the Rio Games in 2016, achieved this performance on his first pitch, during the American Track League, a newly created competition.
The previous record (22.66 m) dated from January 1989.
“It’s a good start to 2021,” commented Crouser, who is the most successful pitcher to exceed 22 meters.
His jet landed beyond the landing mat. After a few minutes of procrastination, the officials were able to accurately measure the throw – 22.82 m -. After which they added another mat, in case this type of performance was repeated.
Good for them as Crouser, after a throw from 21.03m, again reached the “beyond” zone at 22.70m, once again beating Barnes’ old mark, but not his successful just before.
His fourth and fifth shots also went far, but were invalidated.
The silver medalist at the last Doha Worlds in 2019 who, after this weighty performance, will be the favorite for the Tokyo Games (23 July-8 August), will have to do much better to tackle the world record outdoors, owned by the same Randy Barnes, who shot 23.12m in 1990.
Crouser, with a throw of 22.91m last summer, tied the 3e best performance of all time, achieved the previous fall by his compatriot Joe Kovacs, crowned world champion in Doha just ahead of him, and by the Italian Alessandro Andrei in 1987. The 2e (23.06 m) was the work of Ulf Timmermann, under the flag of the GDR, in 1988.
Besides Crouser, the reigning 110m hurdles world champion Grant Holloway also distinguished himself by winning the 60m hurdles in 7 sec 35/100e which is the fourth fastest time of all time, five hundredths of the world record held since 1994 by Colin Jackson.
Trayvon Bromell, world indoor champion in the 60m in 2016, won this distance in 6 sec 48/100e, best global performance of a year which is certainly just beginning.
