EUGENE, Oregon — Ryan Crouser, the top shot putter in the world, the best athlete in the history of his event, a 6-foot-7, 317-pound man who can heave a 16-pound metal ball a whopping 76 feet, 8.25 inches, admits to some unconventional self-improvement methods.
Many athletes get better by studying their specific sport. But Crouser, who is favored to win the shot put gold this weekend at the track and field world championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, prefers to look elsewhere.
He analyzes the world’s best jiu jitsu athletes to better understand continuous momentum, examines how top golfers use “elastic movement” with their hips to get power on their long drives, and once told his family he thought long jump training exercises could positively impact his movement at the front of the shot put ring.