DougB – News – Ryan Crouser Makes Final With First Throw Of Season In Morning Session At Tokyo

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Logan Hannigan-Downs photo

TOKYO — It has been almost exactly a year since Ryan Crouser took a competive attempt in the shot put. 

But returned to Japan National Stadium on Saturday, the site of his second Olympic title, and entered the 2025 season with a first attempt that landed on top of the yellow tape that marked the qualifying standard (21.35m). 

His distance was recorded as 21.37m, good enough to pass through the qualification round and into this evening’s finals. 

Tripp Piperi hit 21.47m for the best mark of the morning and U.S. champion Josh Awotunde endured a nerve-wracking conclusion but finished eighth to give the American team three of the 12 who will compete in the final. Payton Otterdahl, who has been dealing with an elbow injury, was not able to push through it and finished 19. 

In the mixed 4×400 relay, the United States empoyed a team of Bryce Deadmon, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Jenoah McIver and Alexis Holmes to win the first heat and qualify for the final with 3:10.18. 

Reigning Olympic champion Valarie Allman and reigning world champion Laulauga Tausaga both advanced out of the qualifying session to the finals of the women’s discus. 

Allman produced the third-longest throw with 66.07m and Tausaga had the fifth-best with 64.99m. 

Two additional Americans in the women’s discus, Gabi Jacobs and Shelby Frank, did not advance, finishing 18th and 23rd respectively. 

The first gold medals of the 2025 World Athletics Championships were won by Canada and Spain in the 35-kilometer racewalks. 

Evan Dunfee, an Olympic bronze medalist, won his first global title at the age of 34 with a time of 2:28:22. He won by more than 30 seconds. Caio Bonfim of Brazil took silver with 2:28:55 and Hayatu Katsuki gave the Japanese crowed reason to roar with his bronze medal finish in 2:29:16. 

Maria Perez of Spain won her third World Championship title in a time of 2:39:01, missing her own personal best by two seconds. Antonella Palmisano of Italy took silver with 2:42:24 and Paula Milena Torres of Ecuador broke her national record with 2:42:44 and finished in bronze position.