BORING, Ore. — Ryan Crouser is the greatest shot-putter who ever lived, a man who conquered his sport and has carried it upward, higher, and farther for nearly a decade. Consider him a shot-put scientist, relying more on brain than brawn, but with plenty of both as he attempts this week to become the first shot-putter to win three straight gold medals.
But today’s Ryan Crouser is not quite the invincible Ryan Crouser of Rio and Tokyo, not for the last five months or so and not likely when he competes on Friday at Stade de France.
