SAINT-DENIS, France — The moment had finally arrived. It started with a parade: large men with large muscles, big beards and big bellies; biceps that threatened to rip T-shirts and 16-pound shots that sailed through the air like paperweights, before landing with heavy thuds.
The giants were headed toward the infield at Stade de France and the Olympic shot put final. Ryan Crouser, the most giant of them all, was introduced last. He waved and implored the crowd to burst some eardrums.
