TOKYO — U.S. shot put thrower Ryan Crouser made it three world championships in a row to go with his three straight Olympic golds.

This one, though, was a surprise.

All of Crouser’s six official throws of 2025 came Saturday night: one in qualifying and five in finals. He has been nursing an elbow injury and hadn’t competed in a global or national event all year.

His throw of 22.34 meters (73 feet, 3½ inches) was good for the most unlikely gold medal of his remarkable career. He joined Switzerland’s Werner Günthör as the second man to win three straight shot put titles.

In other results Saturday, the American 4×400 mixed relay team built a lead that not even comeback artist Femke Bol of the Netherlands could overcome.

Bol, who rallied her relay teams to amazing wins in 2023 and 2024, couldn’t close a massive gap on the anchor lap in this one.

Alexis Holmes crossed the line 1.16 seconds ahead of Bol to give the U.S. the gold. Bol still gets credit for moving from fifth to second over her final lap. She will be the favorite in the 400 hurdles next week and will likely get another shot at the relay in the women’s 4×400.

There might not have been a bigger favorite in a race over the entire meet than Beatrice Chebet in the women’s 10,000.

The world-record holder and Olympic champion came through, as expected, bursting past defending champion Gudaf Tsegay with about a half-lap left then fending off a game challenge from Italy’s Nadia Battocletti down the stretch.

Chebet’s time of 30 minutes, 37.61 seconds was pedestrian by her standards, but the gold medal will look just as good. Last year, she became the first woman to crack 29 minutes over the 25-lap race.

There’s a possibility of a tantalizing showdown in the 5,000 next weekend between Chebet and Faith Kipyegon, the 1,500-meter world-record holder who advanced easily through her 1,500 heat.

Also advancing to a final — this one for long jump — was Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall, who only needed one jump to move through. She finished sixth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in front of empty seats. On this trip, she noticed that when she waved to the fans, they didn’t hoot and holler but simply waved back.

“It’s like silent applause,” she said. “The fans are amazing.”