Championship record for Crouser despite blood clots in leg

Shot put giant almost breaks his own world record in Budapest with mighty 23.51m

After being diagnosed with two blood clots in his left leg recently, Ryan Crouser was warned by medics that there were further health risks if he travelled to Budapest to compete in the World Championships.

But the 30-year-old weighed up the level of danger and decided to defend his world crown on Saturday (Aug 19), which he did in glorious style with a 23.51m championship record in the final round which was only five centimetres short of his own world record.

“It’s definitely been a challenge,” he said in an emotional post-competition interview. “Plyometrics and sprinting are the bread and butter of my taper and I’ve not done much of this recently. The last time I really threw hard was London Diamond League (July 23).”

Initially last month he thought he had a calf strain or mild tear but one of his team felt uneasy when it did not react to treatment in the way they would hope and advised Crouser to have it checked out by doctors, which is when the blood clots were spotted.

“It’s been an unfortunate preparation but I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic medical team around me,” he said. “They’ve got me here safely and figured out what medication I can be on with World Athletics’ drug testing. We had to work out how to get me medicated within the rules and to travel and train safely. And we came up with a good plan and they told me what the risks were and the decision was left up to me over what travel I would do.”

He believes the problem arose on London Diamond League weekend, where he may have caught Covid on the way home. “We don’t know what caused [the blood clots] but it was probably a number of factors,” he said.

“I got sick travelling back from London Diamond League and I lost my sense of smell. So it was possibly Covid most likely. Also there was international travel and a four-hour training session in 104 degrees so I was a little dehydrated. There are three major factors there. But I had no swelling, redness or throbbing, so I thought it was a calf strain.”

On the eve of the World Championships, Crouser said: “The last 20 days have been some of the most frustrating and stressful of my life.”

Given this, was it the best performance of his career? “Yes, considering the physical preparation that I’ve had,” he said.

“[The blood clots] impacted my training a lot as I’ve been managing the pain and…