Ethan Katzberg

Ethan Katzberg
Katzberg at the 2023 World Athletics Championships
Personal information
Born (2002-04-05) April 5, 2002 (age 22)[1]
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Height201 cm (6 ft 7 in)[2]
Weight107 kg (236 lb)[3]
Sport
CountryCanada
SportTrack and field
EventHammer throw
Coached byDylan Armstrong[3]
Bernie Katzberg[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests84.38 m (276 ft 10 in) NR, AR (Nairobi 2024)[1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Hammer throw
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Budapest Hammer throw
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham Hammer throw
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Hammer throw

Ethan Katzberg (born April 5, 2002) is a Canadian hammer thrower. He is the reigning Olympic and world champion in that event, winning gold in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics and in Budapest at the 2023 World Championships. He is also the 2023 Pan American champion and the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist.[4][5][6]

Career

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Katzberg started throwing hammer at the age of 14 after watching his father coach his sister in the event, thinking it looked fun.[7] He initially trained at the Nanaimo Track and Field Club.[8] Following high school he moved to Kamloops to be trained by new coach Dylan Armstrong, a former Olympic shot put medallist.[7] Armstrong said of the new talent then that he was "a skinny basketball player when I got him. What really stuck out, obviously, was his height and his speed. That’s a rare combination. It’s hard to find a fast, tall, co-ordinated guy that may have some interest in throwing — they all go to basketball, football or other sports."[7]

Making his major international tournament debut at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, Katzberg qualified to the hammer throw final but finished last with no valid throws. He won a silver medal in the hammer throw event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[9]

Katzberg enjoyed early success on the international competitive circuit in 2023, notably winning gold when the Diamond League held a promotional mixed-gender hammer throw event at the 2023 Meeting de Paris.[10] He won his first Canadian national title months later. Competing in his first world championships in Budapest at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Katzberg qualified for the finals with the best throw and a national record of 81.18 m (266 ft 4 in). He threw a 81.25 m (266 ft 6+3⁄4 in) on his fifth throw, setting another new national record and winning the gold medal and world title.[11] Katzberg's victory made him both the youngest ever men’s hammer throw medallist and world champion, and the first Canadian man to win a medal in the event. His victory ended the reign of five-time world champion Paweł Fajdek, who finished fourth, while he also defeated Wojciech Nowicki, the reigning Olympic champion.[12][11] Katzberg was part of a Canadian sweep of the hammer events in Budapest, along with Camryn Rogers' victory in the women's event.[13][14]

Following the World Championships, Katzberg concluded the year as part of the Canadian team for the 2023 Pan American Games, where he won the gold medal. His winning distance of 80.96 m set a new Games record.[15]

To start his 2024 season, Katzberg threw 84.38 m on April 20 at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, a new Canadian and NACAC area record the longest hammer throw by anyone since 2008, moving him to ninth on the all-time list.[16][17] Named to his first Canadian Olympic team, Katzberg entered the hammer throw event as the title favourite, and finished first in the qualification round. With his opening throw of the final he managed a distance of 84.12 metres, just shy of the Olympic record of 84.80 metres.[18][19] He was the only competitor in the event to throw above 80 metres, and took the gold medal by a 4.15-metre margin over Hungarian silver medalist Bence Halász.[20] This was the first hammer throw medal for a Canadian since Duncan Gillis' silver in 1912, and the first gold medal for a Canadian in a throwing event since Étienne Desmarteau won the now-discontinued weight throw in 1904.[18] With Rogers' subsequently claiming victory in the women's event, Canada swept the hammer throw at a second major championship.[21] Shortly after his victory, Katzberg traveled to attend a training camp in Slovakia, but returned to Paris a few days later upon being named Canada's co-flagbearer at the closing ceremony, alongside triple gold medalist swimmer Summer McIntosh.[22]

Personal life

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Katzberg is originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and moved to Kamloops after highschool to train at the Kamloops Track and Field Club.[23]

Personal bests

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International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2021 World U20 Championships Kasarani, Kenya – Hammer throw NM
2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham, England 2nd Hammer throw 76.36 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st Hammer throw 81.25 m
Pan American Games Santiago, Chile 1st Hammer throw 80.96 m
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France 1st Hammer throw 84.12 m

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Athletics Canada Profile - Ethan Katzberg". Athletics Canada. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "KATZBERG Ethan". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Mary Hastings (May 5, 2022). "After eye-popping throw, Katzberg takes aim at major international events under Armstrong's tutelage". Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "2022 Birmingham Results: Men's Hammer Throw - Final: Sat, 06 Aug - 11:48 (Finished)". 2022 Commonwealth Games. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Davidson, Jordan (August 12, 2022). "Local hammer thrower brings home silver medal from Commonwealth Games". The Beach. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Heroux, Devin (May 1, 2024). "Already a world champion, Canada's Ethan Katzberg aims to bring the hammer down at Paris Olympics". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Gillespie, Kerry (August 20, 2023). "'Skinny basketball player' Ethan Katzberg gives Canada its first gold medal in the hammer throw". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Marshall, Dan (June 3, 2021). "Nanaimo's Ethan Katzberg sets Canadian hammer throw record twice in one month". CFJC Today. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve (August 6, 2022). "Nanaimo's Ethan Katzberg wins silver in Commonwealth Games hammer". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Barnes, Dan (June 12, 2023). "Canadian hammer throwers keep nailing it on international scene". The Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Canada's Ethan Katzberg wins hammer throw gold medal at World Athletics Championships". CBC Sports. August 20, 2023. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Katzberg ends Fajdek's reign as world hammer champion in Budapest". World Athletics. August 20, 2023. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "Camryn Rogers claims hammer throw gold, becoming 1st Canadian woman to win world title in 20 years". CBC Sports. August 24, 2023. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Russell, Scott (August 24, 2023). "Camryn Rogers, Ethan Katzberg at forefront of Canadian renaissance in throwing events". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  15. ^ "Canada's Ethan Katzberg strikes gold again in hammer throw at Pan American Games". The Globe & Mail. November 4, 2023. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Canadian Ethan Katzberg notches longest hammer throw since 2008". Sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. April 20, 2024. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Chagnon, Gabriel; McGoldrick, Hayley (April 22, 2024). "Weekend Roundup: Katzberg keeps hammering records, McKay & Miller strike World Cup silver". Team Canada. Canadian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Canada's Ethan Katzberg wins Olympic hammer throw gold in dominating fashion". Sportsnet. August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  19. ^ "Canada's Ethan Katzberg wins Olympic gold in hammer throw with dominating performance". CBC Sports. August 4, 2024. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  20. ^ Waldie, Paul (August 4, 2024). "Paris Olympics: Canada's Ethan Katzberg wins gold in men's hammer throw". The Globe & Mail. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  21. ^ "Canada's Camryn Rogers secures women's hammer throw Olympic title". CBC Sports. August 6, 2024. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Lowrie, Morgan (August 11, 2024). "Summer McIntosh, Ethan Katzberg chosen as Canada's flag-bearers for Paris Olympics closing ceremony". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  23. ^ Fenton, Caela (August 21, 2023). "5 fun facts about world champion hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
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