Olympic and world shot put champion Ryan Crouser produced a sensational performance to obliterate his own world record at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on Saturday.
The 30-year-old American star heaved a mammoth 23.56m throw at Drake Stadium to smash his previous world mark of 23.37m set at the US Olympic trials in Eugene in 2021.
Crouser, the 2016 and 2020 Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion, had signalled he was in the mood for a big performance with two earlier throws that broke the 23m-barrier.
But he brought the house down with a fourth throw of 23.56m that improved his previous world mark by a whopping 19cm.
Crouser said afterwards that his record was the result of a new throwing technique he has developed this year involving a "step across" -- and warned he believes he can throw further.
"I'm really excited," the 6ft 7in 320-pound man-mountain said. "I felt like I have a ton of power and I caught a big one but there's still a lot more which is really exciting because I haven't been throwing hard in training.
"I've been at 75% intensity, working on some technical stuff. Some of it stuck and some of it still needs improvement so I'm really, really excited for this as a stepping stone going forward."
- Quest for improvement -
Although he has dominated shot putting for much of the past decade, Crouser said he is constantly innovating his technique in the quest for improvement.
"I'm always competing against myself whether it was in high school or in college - I've always felt like my goal is to throw a personal best.
"It's such a special feeling to say 'Today I'm the best I've ever been'. That's what continues to push me to be better."
Crouser's performance was the undeniable highlight of a high-caliber meeting that is part of a strategic move by USA Track and Field to stage more top-tier events on US soil.
However a much-anticipated women's 100m fell flat when US sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson, fellow US sprinter Aleia Hobbs and the Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou all scratched from the final.
Richardson had eased through her heat in 10.90sec, second-fastest overall behind Ta Lou, who clocked 10.88sec to win her heat.
However both women failed to show for the final. US media reported that Richardson had complained of cramps after her heat.
In the men's 100m meanwhile, 2019 world champion Christian Coleman was surprisingly beaten into third place behind Jamaica's Ackeem Blake, who won in 9.89sec, with Cravont Charleston of the United States second in 9.91sec.
In the men's pole vault, Sweden's Olympic and world champion Armand "Mondo" Duplantis set a world leading jump of 5.91m to claim victory ahead of Sam Kendricks of the United States. Chris Nilsen was third in 5.71m.
There was a world leading time, too, in the women's 100m hurdles, where Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn stormed to victory in 12.31sec ahead of former world record holder Keni Harrison, second in 12.35sec.
Nigeria's world record holder and reigning world champion Tobi Amusan finished last in 12.69sec.
Puerto-Rico's Camacho-Quinn said her performance augurs well for the rest of the season as she prepares for the World Championships in Budapest in August.
"I messed up in the race – I was way too high over certain hurdles and I wasted a bit of time," Camacho-Quinn said.
"Honestly, I'm happy for the time but I know I still have more."
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