Ryan Crouser ready to chase 3rd straight Olympic shot put crown with aching elbow on the mend

PARIS -- Two-time reigning Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser's workout routine used to be throw, throw, throw.

Now, it's ice, ice, ice.

It's the only way to quiet a nerve issue in his right arm that required a procedure three months ago and has placed his chances at a three-peat in jeopardy. Between the icing sessions, arm exercises, heat treatment, physical therapy visits and massages, the world-record holder believes he's ready for the Paris Games.

Make that, as ready as Crouser's going to be.

“It’s a workout in and of itself, trying to get this thing healthy,” the 31-year-old American said Monday. “It’s coming around. Things are coming into shape. It’s not quite perfect, but I feel like it rarely ever is.”

Crouser began experiencing pain in the ulnar nerve of his elbow at world indoors in early March. Just when the elbow twinge began to clear up, he hurt his pectoral muscle lifting weights.

Then, the pain in the ulnar nerve came back. He underwent a procedure on his elbow in April where the doctor lifted the nerve out of the ulnar groove with a saline solution.

Despite limited training heading into the U.S. Olympic trials, Crouser won the title to secure his trip to Paris. His winning attempt was 22.84 meters (74 feet, 11¼ inches) and enough to hold off Joe Kovacs, who finished runner-up to Crouser at the Tokyo Games and in Rio de Janeiro.

Crouser really hasn't gone full force on a shot-put attempt since trials. He's careful not to push it too far in training, spending as much time on his elbow rehab (about two hours a day) as shot-put mechanics.

“It’s a whole regimen,” said Crouser, who dealt with a health scare last summer when he was diagnosed with blood clots before winning a world title in Budapest, Hungary. “This has been such a challenging spring and summer that, yeah, there’s a sense of just being happy to be here. You dream as an Olympian that everything goes perfect. It’s difficult mentally to prepare yourself when things go very wrong."

For most of the spring, Crouser would go through one throwing session and then need two or three days off. Last week, he notched back-to-back throwing days, same as he'll need to do Friday and Saturday at the Olympics. It was a big confidence boost for the shot-putter who came up with a revamped technique (the "Crouser Slide") that helped him break his own world record 14 months ago.

“The best analogy is this — it’s like an airplane where we’re all loaded up, and everything’s ready to go. We just have a short runway,” Crouser explained. "It’s tough to know exactly where I'm at. It’s also exciting to go into a meet ... just not knowing where I am at — and seeing if I can surprise myself.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games