China's Zhu Yaming took silver with a personal best of 17.57m and Hugues Zango won the bronze (17.47m) -- Burkina Faso's first ever Olympic medal.

Pichardo succeeds two-time Olympic champion Christian Taylor, who was unable to defend his title after rupturing his Achilles earlier this year.

American Ryan Crouser retains Olympic men's shot put title

American Ryan Crouser bettered his own Olympic record as he retained the men's shot put title on Thursday.

Crouser managed a best of 23.30 metres on his sixth and final effort, a new Olympic record after his five previous attempts had also all gone beyond the 22.52m that saw him win gold in the 2016 Rio Games.

The 28-year-old American led a repeat of the Rio podium, with teammate and world champion Joe Kovacs taking silver with 22.65m, and New Zealand's Tomas Walsh claiming bronze (22.47).