Canada has put itself on the map of athletics, dominating in hammer throw at the Olympics in Paris.
Camryn Rogers threw her way to gold on Tuesday, becoming the Olympic champion in the women’s event just days after fellow Canadian Ethan Katzberg made history on the men’s side.
Both hail from B.C.: Rogers from Richmond and Katzberg from Nanaimo. While it may have come as a surprise, Garrett Collier, program manager for Track and Field, BC Athletics, says the potential has always been here.
“It was awesome, we got to watch both of them — they were at a decent hour here in Vancouver to watch,” Collier told 1130 NewsRadio Tuesday.
“Especially in Camryn’s case, just knowing all the work and all the time spent in the rain and the snow, and then, you know, all the work that that her and Coach Mo put together when she went off to college. It’s just all coming to this amazing moment. And just to watch her do her thing at the Olympics and achieve a goal that I know has been in her mind for a very long time has been just amazing to watch.”
Collier admits hammer throw hasn’t been the most popular track and field sport in Canada. However, he says the country — and especially B.C. — is filled with “a good collection of very knowledgeable coaches.”
“We really focused on it. We haven’t focused too much on some of the other events, and kids can start throwing when they’re 12 years old. And so that’s unique here in B.C. We also have hammer throw in the high school championships, so that’s another unique thing — some provinces don’t have it. Most places in the States don’t have it. So, you know, we’re able to recruit and introduce at different stages and even from different sports. I think that compiled with the support that we’ve had from BC Athletics and from provincial bodies, as well as the coaching, which is really the most important part of developing talent. We just have great coaches and we work well together. And we’re all friendly, even though we’re trying to beat each other,” he said of the push for hammer throw from BC Athletics.
“We really just decided to focus on it and take it to the next level.”
According to Team Canada, Rogers became the country’s first ever Olympic medalist in the hammer throw.
The reigning world champion grabbed the lead with her fifth of six attempts, throwing 76.97 metres — nearly 1.5 metres better than American Annette Echikunwoke. Zhao Jie of China took the bronze at 74.27 metres.
Days prior, Katzberg, also the reigning world champ, literally put the hammer down on his first attempt of 84.12 metres which fell just short of the Olympic record of 84.80 metres set by Sergey Litvinov of Russia in 1988.
“It’s just the third time that one country has won both the men’s and women’s hammer throw at one Olympic Games,” Team Canada noted.
“I think we do have a great throwing culture and the other events, as well as hammer, here in Canada … we’re a very close community. But I do think that the success that we’ve had here in B.C. has been amazing, just really hard to believe sometimes, hard to wrap your head around. I remember talking with Dylan, who is Ethan’s coach, about just, did we ever think that we would be here? And no, it’s crazy to think that Canada is now in that topic. And hopefully it means that we’re able to build on the success, that we’re able to find more opportunities for funding and all that kind of stuff, just to inspire the next generation. And these throwers are very young. They’ll be at the very least in the next two Olympics. So, there’s a lot to work on from now until then,” said Collier.
All in the family
Rogers made history in her Olympic debut in Tokyo, becoming the first Canadian woman to ever advance into an Olympic hammer throw final. She went on to finish fifth overall, and was the youngest competitor in the final by almost two years.
Collier says Rogers has always been a determined athlete and has been an ambassador for Canadian athletics.
“I think if your dream is to make an Olympics, especially in throwing or track and field or athletics, I think making those right decisions off the track and outside of the ring are very important. But just to know that, my experience with Camryn when she was a young kid and she was in high school, she had a lot of the same issues that she was dealing with, that every kid deals with. But she just kept going and she kept training. She had a goal in mind and she didn’t let anything come in and get in the way of that goal. And she did it with a huge smile and being incredibly personable,” Collier recalled, providing some advice to other athletes. “I think if you put the hard work in the talent will sort itself out.”
He’s known the 25-year-old for years, basically from the start of her throwing days. Collier says it was his father who “recruited her off the track and pulled her into the ring to throw at a young age.”
“When my dad’s health took a turn, I took over for him at Kajaks, the track club, and was able to coach with her. Every time she’s in town, we always have her over. My girls love her and my wife always enjoys seeing her. Our families are pretty tight. She’s great,” Collier recalled.
“She’s the best. She’s very personable, very happy to talk with anyone, very well spoken. Her moral compass and everything is in the right direction. She’s a hard worker.”
But Collier says there’s one more thing Rogers is well known for — her hugs.
“When she hugs you, you have to brace yourself for it. She’s broken several of my sunglasses with some of those,” he said with a laugh.
“So yeah, she’s a great person. I can’t say enough, and Ethan Rowan (Hamilton), and Adam (Keenan) — the other hammer throwers that were in Paris — really class-act individuals.”
Rogers has won gold and silver at the world championships the past two years. She had the second-best hammer throw in the world this year at 77.76 metres and the best in the Olympic field as No. 1, Brooke Andersen, failed to qualify at the U.S. Trials.
—With files from Sportsnet