Three-time Olympic shot put gold medalist Ryan Crouser will miss the rest of the track and field season due to upcoming surgery on his right elbow, which has given him problems for three seasons.
Crouser, 33, said it has been “a bit of a struggle” with the elbow for several months.
Crouser said he “snapped off the tip” of his olecranon in May, and it must be removed. While that piece of broken bone is removed, other maintenance will be done inside the elbow.
“It’s definitely the smarter move long term because I can’t really throw very well,” he said in a YouTube video. “With the goal of 2027 and 2028 in mind, it’s the right call. It’s just a difficult call.”
Crouser competed in three Diamond League meets while injured this spring, placing third, second and third.
In 2025, when he also dealt with right elbow problems, he competed once internationally, winning his third world outdoor title in September in Tokyo.
“There was a block of time where it looked like it might be kind of the end of my throwing career,” Crouser told Lewis Johnson on NBC Sports at 2025 Worlds. “It went from not just how do I get back to throwing, but how do I have a functional elbow for the rest of my life?”
In 2024, he competed through a right elbow tear to become the first person to win a third Olympic shot put gold medal.
