It’s hammer time for empowerment

Canadian and NCAA record holder Rogers seems to gain confidence with every throw

When Camryn Rogers picks up the hammer, it’s a sight to see the strength, speed and explosive power — with a side of patience — that she puts into her throws.

That’s on display at the Canadian track and field championships this week, as it was two weeks ago when she won at the NCAA championships for the third time, and in record-setting fashion. And it was there at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics where, as the youngest thrower in the field, she finished fifth and was the first Canadian woman to make an Olympic hammer final.

But even with all that success, one thing has never changed: The feeling she gets throwing ever-greater distances — her Canadian record now stands at 77.67 metres — is the same one she had the very first time she threw a hammer and it flew, well, “like two metres.”

“I was 12 and I had never done a sport before,” Rogers said in an interview ahead of her Saturday final. “But even with those two metres, I felt so powerful and confident. As a young girl, finding that feeling meant so much to me. I was mostly the girl in the corner reading.”

That feeling of being powerful has remained the one constant in her ever-changing relationship with the sport as she has grown and reached greater heights. And it’s why she is thrilled to see more women coming to the sport.

“In Canada and outside of Canada, more women are throwing, more women are doing these incredible sports and events that I think not too long ago were seen as mostly male-dominated sports and events,” the 23-year-old from Richmond. B.C., said. “I mean, women’s hammer wasn’t in the Olympics until 2000, which was so not very long ago.” (And 100 years after the

men’s hammer was included in the Games.)

“Hammer has allowed me to feel like I have presence and knowing that I can carry that same feeling of power with me no matter where I am, no matter what I’m doing, it’s helped teach me from a young age how to be confident and how to be secure in who I am and in what I do.”

There does seem to be more interest and strength in women’s throws in Canada than ever before.

With the qualification window still open, at least three women are set to represent Canada at July’s World Athletics championships in Eugene, Ore.: Rogers, Sarah Mitton, who is Canada’s record holder in shot put, and longtime national javelin record holder Liz Gleadle. And seven women have been named to Canada’s Commonwealth Games

team, the highest percentage of women throwers the country has had on the overall team.

“If anything, we’re going to see the numbers of women in throwing events grow even more and I think that’s awesome,” Rogers said. “Knowing how much this sport, and the people that I’ve met through the sport, have done for me, how much it has changed me, how much it’s given to me, I can’t help but feel so happy knowing that it’s going to do that exact same thing for so many other women.”

Rogers likes to think of herself as “stoic” in competition, never showing too much emotion, good or bad after her throws.

But earlier this month, at her last NCAA championships for the University of California, when she threw 77.67 metres for the win, and

raised her Canadian and collegiate records, stoic went out the window. She literally skipped for joy to her coach, Mohamad Saatara.

“Seeing the result of everything that we had worked so hard to achieve, I think in that moment I definitely did not hide my face super, super well,” she said, laughing. “But I also didn’t want to. I was so excited that I was able to do it when it counted.”

That throw was farther than the throw that won the silver medal at last summer’s Olympics. And it’s just the sort of throw she’ll be looking for three weeks from now when she faces the world’s best again at the world championships.

“Having a new personal best shows that we’re still getting better and that there’s still more to go. This isn’t the end of the journey.”

If anything, we’re going to see the numbers of women in throwing events grow even more and I think that’s awesome.

CAMRYN ROGERS