Richmond’s Camryn Rogers wins gold in women’s hammer throw

Canada just might be a hammer-throw nation.

Reigning world champ Camryn Rogers gave Canada a clean sweep in Olympic hammer throw competition by capturing gold in the women’s event on Tuesday at Paris 2024.

It is Canada’s 18th medal at Paris 2024. Canada’s Ethan Katzberg, also the reigning world champ, won the men’s hammer throw event last weekend.

It also marked Canada’s first Olympic gold medal by a female track and field athlete in 96 years, per Devin Heroux of CBC Olympics. Canada’s Ethel Catherwood won the women’s high jump and the Canadian women’s 4×100-metre relay team took gold at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.

Rogers, from Richmond, B.C., grabbed the lead with her fifth of six attempts, throwing 76.97 metres — nearly 1.5 metres better than American Annette Echikunwoke.

Earlier, Rogers took the temporary lead on her third of sixth attempts, recording 74.47 metres. But a few throws later, Echikunwoke overtook the Canadian with a season-best throw of 75.58 metres.

Rogers came within 14 centimetres of Echikunwoke on her next throw (74.44 metres) before notching the win on the fifth attempt.

Zhao Jie of China took the bronze at 74.27 metres.

The Ohio-born Echikunwoke was scheduled to compete for Nigeria, her parents’ homeland, in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, but she was among a group of athletes from the country disqualified because of an administrative error scheduling doping tests. Echikunwoke found out about the disqualification on her birthday in 2021, July 29, while in Tokyo, per Olympics.com.

Rogers was second overall in qualifying (74.69 metres), behind Krista Tervo of Finland (74.79).

Rogers has won gold and silver at the world championships the past two years.

Rogers has 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.

Rogers’ personal best is 78.62.