SAINT-DENIS, France — Ryan Crouser told USA TODAY Sports he was going for the Olympic three-peat. He did just that and cemented himself as the best shot putter of all time.

The U.S. shot putter won his third consecutive Olympic gold medal with a throw of 75 feet, 1¾ inches. He’s the only shot put thrower to win three Olympic gold medals in the event.

Team USA’s Joe Kovacs finished second, throwing 69 feet, 4¾ inches. Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell came in third with nearly an identical mark, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Kovacs.

Crouser is the world record holder (23.56 meters, or 77 feet, 3¾ inches) and he owns the Olympic record (23.30 meters). His third Olympic gold just adds to his unprecedented achievements in the sport.

“I was more aggressive, chasing big throws in the early rounds. I knew I had to put pressure on those guys with a big early-round throw, hopefully make them tighten up a little bit,” Crouser said. “(Leonardo) Fabbri’s been throwing extremely well, Joe (Kovacs) has been over 23 this year. So I knew from the start I had to come out swinging and was lucky enough to be in the driver’s seat and be a little more reactive in the later rounds.”

Crouser battled nagging elbow and pectoral injuries this season. He even had doubts that he’d make the team at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. But those doubts are a distant memory now.

“This last month has been a trade-off between training intensity and training frequency. I’ve gone more with frequency. When I tried to amp up the intensity in training, the elbow didn’t respond well to it. So the decision was to throw more often instead of throw and then spend two days to manage the elbow and try to throw again,” Crouser said. “I wanted to throw back-to-back days and feel like I could throw technically. So I really just hammered the fundamentals but wasn’t sure what kind of shape I was in just because I hadn’t touched on the intensity. The body felt good but there’s a big difference between feeling good and executing well.”

Execution was no problem Saturday.

What’s next for the 31-year-old? The 6-foot-7 champ is going to continue throwing. He might dabble in the discus within the next few years, but he plans to aim for a four-peat at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.