Canada’s Ethan Katzberg won the gold medal in the men’s hammer throw at the Paris Olympics on Sunday with a dominating performance.
Katzberg, from Nanaimo, opened with a 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.
That "just threw 68 cm from the Olympic record" feeling 💪
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 4, 2024
Ethan Katzberg sends his hammer 84.12m, sitting in provisional first place with his first throw 👏
Watch #Paris2024 on CBC Gem | @CBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/6Jp0EwfAdw
The reigning world champion also had the second-best throw at 82.28 metres.
No other competitor hit the 80-metre mark.
“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.”
Bence Halasz of Hungary took silver at 79.97 metres and Mykhaylo Kokhan threw 79.39 metres to earn bronze.
READ MORE: Nanaimo’s Ethan Katzberg wins gold in hammer throw at world championships
Rowan Hamilton of Chilliwack, who was second behind Katzberg in qualifying, finished ninth at 76.59 metres.
Forever in the history books 🥇
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 4, 2024
Ethan Katzberg becomes the first Canadian man to win a gold medal in hammer throw at the Olympics 💪#TeamCanada | #Paris2024| @RC_Sports pic.twitter.com/iUeouRT07u
In boxing, Wyatt Sanford ended one streak and continued another on Day 9 of the Paris Olympics.
The boxer from Kennetcook, N.S., was defeated in his 63.5-kilogram semifinal bout against France’s Sofiane Oumiha on Sunday.
However, with boxing awarding two bronze medals to the semifinal losers rather than stage a fight for third place, Sanford ended Canada’s Olympic medal drought in the sport that stretched over the last six Games. The last Canadian boxer to step on the podium had been David Defiagbon, who took heavyweight silver at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
And with Sanford’s bronze already added to the official medal table, Canada has equalled its record streak of nine straight days on the podium set at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Canada sat ninth in the overall medal table with 16 (four gold, four silver, eight bronze).
Four of the five judges scored the 63.5 kg semifinal 29-28 in Oumiha’s favour, while the other had Sanford winning by the same score.
It was another Olympics to forget for Canada’s women’s basketball team, which went winless at the Games following a 79-70 loss to Nigeria in Lille.
After finishing ninth in Tokyo, Canada came into this summer’s tournament ranked fifth in the world. The squad was expected to challenge for a medal, but struggled with turnovers and defensive lapses in losses to Nigeria, Australia and France.
The Canadian Press
