“Get Very Frustrating at the Level”: Gearing up for Paris Olympics, Track and Field World Record Holder Ryan Crouser Shares His Perspective on Coaching Younger Athletes

The world is well aware of the 2.01m man, Ryan Crouser, who doesn’t keep any stone unturned on the competitive ground. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the shot put is the world record holder in both indoors and outdoors. It’s nearly impossible for someone to reach his medal tally. At the 2024 World Athletics, he earned his first World Indoor title of his career. But there’s more to the fine shot putter than meets the eye.

The 31-year-old Olympian moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, in December 2019 with a hope in his heart. The University of Arkansas men’s track and field team had appointed Crouser as the volunteer coach. As he embarked on a noteworthy journey, he gradually unfolded his weak points. This is his story of coaching and how it has impacted him.

Ryan Crouser shares how tutoring has seasoned him

Shedding light on how training young athletes helped him, he said to NBC Sports, “It kind of keeps it in perspective. It can get very frustrating at the level that I’m at where you’re chasing one centimeter and trying to find the smallest improvements”. Always on his toes while trying to throw farther than the previous one, the Oregon native feels the pressure building at a considerable rate. This, in a way, slows him down.

So, “It can be helpful to have the college kids there for perspective. I was in their shoes once, and look at far how I’ve come” was what he said to wind up his speech. The 2023 World shot put gold medalist shifted to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista after a master’s degree in finance shone in his resume. He who has been a self-coach throughout, got little help from his athletic dad now and then. Having said so, how are his days looking like?

Crouser set his sight on the Paris gold

This time is all about training for the Paris Olympics more than anything. Already boasting of two golds, Ryan Crouser will look to earn the third shot put gold. There are two names he wishes to outpace, Ralph Rose and Parry O’Brien. “I’m excited for the opportunity to hopefully be the first person to win three – it would truly be an honor”, he voiced in a recent interview.

“If you can focus for long enough, you’ll get to the point where you will have a great legacy in the sport,” says the athlete who has proven his prowess time and again. If he makes his Olympic team this year, he will not only see his name light up in history but also be the perfect example to the young guns he trains.

READ MORE: Olympic Champion Ryan Crouser Expresses Subtle Disappointment Over Unratified World Record