Washington, Jan 25 (IANS): Olympic champion Ryan Crouser added 16 centimetres to the world indoor shot put record at the American Track League meeting recently held in Fayetteville, a city in northwest Arkansas.
On Sunday, Crouser threw 22.82 meters to kick off the 2021 World Athletics Indoor Tour series in style.
He unleashed his record-breaking effort on his first attempt, breaking the previous world indoor record of 22.66m set by Randy Barnes of the US in 1989. The 28-year-old also beat the old world record with his third-round effort of 22.70m. His throws in the fourth and fifth rounds landed at a similar distance but both were fouls.
"It's a pretty good start to 2021," said Crouser as per the World Athletics website. "It's been a long road to get back to normal competition. I felt really nervous on the first throw, but I had a ton of energy. I feel like there's more there," he added.