Olympic Track and Field 2016: Men's Shot Put Winners, Scores and Results

Ryan Crouser of the United States took home the gold medal with an Olympic record-setting performance of 22.52 meters in the men's shot put at the 2016 Summer Games from Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night. 

He was joined on the podium by American teammate Joe Kovacs, who finished 0.74 meters behind Crouser for silver.  

Here are the medalists and results from the day's events:

Medal	Athlete	Country	Mark
Gold	Ryan Crouser	United States	22.52 (OR)
Silver	Joe Kovacks	United States	21.78
Bronze	Tomas Walsh	New Zealand	21.36

The United States has largely dominated the shot put at the Olympics. Since the first Modern Games of 1896 in Athens, American shot-putters have won gold in 17 of the 30 Olympiads. 

However, that trend has been changing since 2000, as other countries have won three of the past four gold medals. 

It was actually Poland's Tomasz Majewski who came into Rio as the two-time defending Olympic champion dating back to the 2008 Beijing Games. He wasn't alone, either, as fellow Pole Konrad Bukowiecki joined him in the finals. 

After Franck Elemba from the Congo laid down the gauntlet early with a throw of 21.20 meters on Thursday, Kovacs started his night with a huge throw of 21.78. 

His lead didn't last long, though, as Crouser set a personal best with his second attempt of 22.22 meters. It was also a world best this season, much to the delight of RunnerSpace.com:

But Crouser continued to push the envelope. He upped his marks even more as the night wore on, going 22.26 meters on his third try and 22.52 meters, an Olympic record, on his fifth. 

Poland's duo was less successful. Bukowiecki didn't record a successful attempt, while Majewski failed on his first two throws. Just trying to get one legal throw in on his final attempt, Majewski could only muster 20.72 meters, good for sixth. 

Stuck in second behind Crouser, Kovacs couldn't better his score after his first throw, but it was good enough to go unchallenged by the rest of the field. New Zealand's Tomas Walsh took bronze on his second-to-last attempt with a 21.36-meter throw to pass Elemba.

Post-Event Reaction

Crouser has admired the man whose Olympic record he broke, East Germany's Ulf Timmermann, whose toss went 22.47 meters during the 1988 Games, via Frank Gogola of TeamUSA.org: "I’ve watched [Timmermann’s] throw probably 10,000 times. I thought that was one of the most beautiful throws I had ever seen. To break that record at the Olympics is truly special."

He also broke down what fueled him to pull off such an impressive toss:

"

To see the stands and the atmosphere on the field, it was phenomenal. It was electric. Once I got into the ring everything really came together. It’s been a long road, and to get here and have everything go essentially perfectly, words can’t describe how I feel right now.

"

For Kovacs, who entered the Olympics ranked No. 1 in the world, his performance on Thursday left something to be desired, via Gogola:

"

You’re never happy to get second. It’s that bittersweet feeling. But it’s setting in. I’m still bringing home a silver medal to the U.S. and the gold’s coming with Ryan. Ryan had some great throws today, and I have to congratulate him on that because he put it together.

"

Even if it isn't the medal he wanted, taking home hardware at the Olympics is an achievement that will last a lifetime. Sharing the podium with a fellow countryman makes it even more special.

Stats courtesy of Rio2016.com.