EUGENE, Ore. — For the third Olympics in a row, Oregon native Ryan Crouser will be headed to the summer games to try and bring home yet another gold medal for Team USA.

On Saturday, Crouser took home first place in the shot-put finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene with a throw of 22.84 meters, and will now look to defend his gold medal in Paris. He, along with Joe Kovacs and Payton Otterdahl, qualified for the 2024 Games. 

Born in Portland and raised in Boring, Oregon, Crouser has been at the top of the track and field world for quite some time.

While attending Sam Barlow High School in Gresham, Crouser set a national record as a sophomore in discus throwing, and in the same year, he won the gold medal for shot putting and silver medal for discus throwing at the World Youth Championships. 

Crouser attended the University of Texas, where he won four NCAA national championships, two for indoor and two for outdoor.

After his time at Texas, Crouser qualified for his first Olympic games in 2016, where he brought home his first gold medal, setting an Olympic record with a throw that went 22.52 meters. He became the first American man to win the event since 2004.

Since his first gold medal, Crouser has racked up Olympic hardware. Including the 2016 Olympics, Crouser has won seven medals — five gold and two silver — from professional competitions. 

In 2021, Crouser made history when he broke a 31-year-old record for the longest shot put ever recorded, with a throw of 23.37 meters (roughly 77 feet).

Just under a month ago, Crouser broke his own record by 0.16 meters. Crouser now stands alone holding the two longest shot-put throws of all time.

This year, Crouser's fought through a procedure in the ulnar nerve on his elbow, a torn pectoral muscle and, last summer, blood clots.

At the 2024 Paris Games, Crouser will be eager to defend his now eight-year reign of dominance over the rest of the world and could be the first man to win three Olympic gold medals in shot put. 

Crouser's competition will be on Aug. 3 for the men's shot put final. 

Click here for the full Olympic track and field schedule.