Canada’s Ethan Katzberg won the gold medal in the men’s hammer throw at the Paris Olympics on Sunday with a dominating performance.
The 22-year-old Katzberg, from Nanaimo, B.C., opened with an Olympic record throw of 84.12 metres and was not seriously challenged through the rest of the competition to win Canada’s first gold medal in the event.
“I don’t if I expected [to win gold] but I had the preparation in mind to get out a good first throw,” Katzberg said. “It felt really good.
“I might have thought it could be good enough, but I didn’t want to assume anything so I was still trying to improve my distance throughout the rounds. But fortunately, 84 sealed the deal.”
The reigning world champion also had the second-best throw at 82.28 metres. No other competitor hit the 80-metre mark.
“As the training leading up to this has kept growing, I knew I was capable of something like 84.00m,” Katzberg told CBC Sports.
“To go out and do it in the first round, you can’t beat that feeling.”
Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., claimed the gold medal with his first throw of 84.12 at the Olympic hammer throw final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Katzberg, who is unbeaten in 2024, is the youngest-ever Olympic champion in the event.
He topped the podium in his world-championship debut last year.
Bence Halasz of Hungary took silver at 79.97 metres and Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine threw 79.39 metres to earn bronze.
“A bronze medal, not what I wanted about the result, but I’m super satisfied with the medal,” Kokhan said.
The Ukrainian was impressed with Katzberg’s throw.
“The 80 metres, during the season a lot of times, but here … a lot of people couldn’t throw over 80. Only [gold medal winner] Ethan [Katzberg]. Probably, he could throw 86m.”
Canada’s Rowan Hamilton (76.59) finished ninth. The Chilliwack, B.C., native was second in the qualifying round on Saturday, behind Katzberg.
Canada’s last Olympic hammer throw medal came 112 years ago, when Duncan Gillis claimed silver in Stockholm 1912.
Defending Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki finished seventh. Five-time world champ Pawel Fajdek, who also from Poland, was fifth.
The first ever Canadian to win Olympic gold in the hammer throw, Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C. makes history.
Source Agencies
