Ryan Crouser winds up to throw in the men's shot put at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hornet Satdium on June 25, 2017 in Sacramento, Calif.
Ryan Crouser continued his domination of the Diamond League series shot put competition, winning in Rabat, Morocco, with a throw of 22.47 meters to set a new meet record on Sunday.
Crouser, the gold medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, who had the longest throw in the world in the last 14 years at the USATF Outdoor Championships last month for his second straight national title, has won all three events so far this season – setting meet records each time – and holds a significant lead in the standings.
“I am loading now with the world championships to come and I surprised myself today,” he said after the competition. “I concentrated on a nice technique and I wanted to simulate a championship competition. I think I can throw a lot further in the next weeks.”
The U.S. also took third in shot put with Ryan Whiting’s throw of 21.16 meters.
Several other American athletes also earned top-three finishes in Rabat.
Donavan Brazier, the U.S. champion in the men’s 800-meter, placed third in the event with a time of 1:44.62, behind Botswana’s Nijel Amos and Kenya’s Kipyegon Bett.
Another current U.S. title holder, Ameer Webb, was second in the men’s 200-meter with a time of 20.18, trailing Canada’s Andre DeGrasse’s winning time of 20.03.
Brenda Martinez was third in the women’s 1,500-meter with a season-best 4:02.75.
U.S. long jump champion Jarrion Lawson also had a season-best mark of 8.33 meters in his event to finish second.
Finally, two-time Olympian Natasha Hastings and Quanera Hayes took second and third, respectively, in the women’s 400-meter. Hastings, who stands second in the overall qualification standings behind Jamaica’s Novlene Williams-Mills, had a time of 50.86 and Hayes was just behind her at 51.08. Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo, the reigning Olympic champion, won in a meet record of 49.80.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
