Shot put world champion Ryan Crouser measures progress at the moment not so much by distance but by the decreasing size of the two blood clots in his left leg.
In that regard, everything is trending in the right direction for the 30-year-old who was diagnosed with the clots just before his win at world championships last month. His medication has been working and shrinking the clots, along with improving the flow rate around them.
This weekend, Crouser closes the book on a season that’s seen him unveil a modernized shot-put style — dubbed the “ Crouser Slide “ — break his own world record, go through his health scare and win a world title in Budapest, Hungary, in spite of the blood clots.
Just one more meet, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, as part of the Diamond League final, and it’s straight into vacation mode. Soon, Crouser will be on a boat in Mexico and reeling in marlin with his fly-fishing rod.
He may even squeeze in some fishing before he competes Sunday at Hayward Field.
“I always joke that there’s a correlation between how far I’m throwing and how much fishing I’m doing,” Crouser said. “So hopefully we can bump that distance up with a couple of fishing trips. I did bring some (fishing) flies with me — just in case.”
There will be plenty of star power around the track for the Diamond League finale. Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson, the men’s and women’s 100-meter world champions, will be there. So, too, are 400-meter hurdles world champions Karsten Warholm and Femke Bol, along with 1,500-meter winner Faith Kipyegon and pole-vault champ Mondo Duplantis.
One last go-around before taking a breather and getting ready for the Paris Olympics next summer.
The Prefontaine Classic is almost like a home meet for Crouser, who grew up in Oregon, went to school at Texas and lives in Arkansas. He’s right at home at Hayward, too, breaking the world record for the first time at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials.
Just don’t expect that world record to be broken this weekend after a long season.
But don’t bet against the world record falling, either.
“Physically, I’m past my peak. But you can always have outlier throws,” Crouser said. “Just go out there and just compete, compete my best on the day and throw well and hopefully go out there and surprise myself.”
He certainly surprised himself in Budapest. He wasn’t even sure he was going to make it to the meet after being diagnosed with blood clots.
He did.
He wasn’t sure if he could defend his title, either, after missing training time.
