Ethan Katzberg (born April 5, 2002) is a Canadian hammer thrower and the reigning world champion in that event, winning gold in Budapest at the 2023 World Championships. He previously competed at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, winning the silver medal.

Career

Katzberg started throwing hammer at the age of 14 after watching his father coach his sister in the event, thinking it looked fun. He initially trained at the Nanaimo Track and Field Club. Following high school he moved to

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

to be trained by new coach

Dylan Armstrong Dylan Armstrong (born January 15, 1981) is a Canadian shot putter. He is a two-time Pan American Games champion, a former Commonwealth Games champion and has also won world championship silver and bronze medals. He was awarded the bronze medal ...

, a former Olympic

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

medallist. 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." Making his major international tournament debut at the

2021 World Athletics U20 Championships The 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 2002), which was held from 18 to 22 August 2 ...

, 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

. Katzberg enjoyed early success on the international competitive circuit in 2023, notably winning gold when the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

held a promotional mixed-gender hammer throw event at the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Meeting de Paris. He won his first Canadian national title months later. Competing in his first world championships in Budapest at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

, Katzberg qualified for the finals with the best throw and a national record of . Katzberg threw a on his fifth throw, setting another new national record and winning the gold medal and world title. 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 Paweł Fajdek (Polish pronunciation: ; born 4 June 1989) is a Polish hammer thrower, a five-time World Champion, European Champion, Olympic bronze medal winner, multiple Polish Champion and Polish men's hammer throw record holder. In 2013, he ...

who finished fourth, while he also defeated

Wojciech Nowicki Wojciech Nowicki (; born 22 February 1989) is a Polish hammer thrower. He won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics and bronze medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2015, 2017 and 2019 World Championships. His personal best in the event is 82 ...

, the reigning Olympic champion. Katzberg was part of a Canadian sweep of the hammer events in Budapest, along with

Camryn Rogers Camryn Rogers (born June 7, 1999) is a Canadian athlete specializing in the hammer throw. She is the reigning world champion, only the second Canadian woman to win gold at the World Athletics Championships. She is also the 2022 World silver meda ...

' victory in the women's event.

Personal bests

* Hammer throw – NR (2023)

International competitions

References

External links

* Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian male hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada 21st-century Canadian people Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships winners 2002 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games {{Canada-athletics-bio-stub