Ethan Katzberg wins gold in men’s hammer throw at Paris Olympics

Ethan Katzberg captured a historic gold medal for Canada in the men’s hammer throw at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

The 22-year-old reigning world champion from Nanaimo, B.C., literally put the hammer down on his first attempt of 84.12 metres which fell just short of the Olympic record of 84.80 metres set by Sergey Litvinov of Russia in 1988.

None of the other 11 competitors in the event managed to break the 80-metre mark in their remaining five attempts.

Bence Halasz of Hungary won silver at 79.97 metres. Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kohkan was third at 79.39 metres.

Katzberg’s Sunday effort was just shy of his world season best of 84.38 metres set in Kenya in April.

Katzberg is the first-ever Canadian Olympic champion in the event and the first in 112 years to bring home a medal in hammer throw since Duncan Gillis won silver at Stockholm 1912. He’s also the first Olympic champion in any throwing event since Étienne Desmarteau won the 56lb weight throw at St Louis 1904.

Katzberg came into the Paris Games off a breakout 2023 season, becoming the youngest men’s world champion last August and claiming the top spot at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile in November.

Canada’s Rowan Hamilton was eliminated after three throws. The reigning NCAA champ, from Chilliwack, B.C., was ninth.

Earlier Sunday, Canada’s Camryn Rogers, the reigning world champion, had the second-best distance in women’s hammer throw qualification to earn a spot in Tuesday’s final.

Elsewhere on Sunday, boxer Wyatt Sanford ended one streak and continued another, sprinter Andre De Grasse missed a final for the first time and swimmer Summer McIntosh wrapped up her prolific Games on Day 9 of the Paris Olympics.

Sanford, of Kennetcook, N.S., was defeated in his 63.5-kilogram semifinal bout against France’s Sofiane Oumiha earlier 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.

His bronze helped Canada equal 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 17 (five gold, four silver, eight bronze) thanks to Katzberg and Sanford adding to the haul.

Sanford, who entered the Games as the top-ranked fighter in his weight category and reigning Pan American Games champion, said after winning his quarterfinal fight that he wanted to bring a gold medal back to Kennetcook. He’ll be bringing back bronze instead, and he is fine with that.

“I can’t wait to get back there to celebrate the bronze medal with my family and friends who have been there for me since day one,” he said. “It’s fantastic to be able to give them something back for all that support over the years.”

De Grasse posted a season-best 9.98 seconds in the 100 metres — but it still wasn’t enough to reach the final. It was a first for the 29-year-old from Markham, Ont.

He entered the Paris Games with a medal from each of his six previous Olympic competitions, including two bronze in the 100.

“It was a tough run. I definitely felt like I had a lot left in the tank, but I wasn’t able to show it today,” he said. “It’s part of the game. I’m grateful to be here, third Olympic Games. It’s a dream come true for me, to be honest. I never thought I’d be here.

“Got to keep my head up and get ready for the 200.”

De Grasse won gold in the 200 three years ago in Tokyo. He’ll begin defence of that title with heats set for Monday.

In the pool, McIntosh fell just short of winning her fifth medal on the final day of swimming. The 17-year-old from Toronto swam the freestyle anchor leg as Canada’s 4×100 medley relay team placed fourth, just 0.68 seconds behind China.

McIntosh exits Paris as the first Canadian to win three gold medals at a single Games. She also won a silver and set two Olympic records.

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.

“You’re competing with the best in the world, in do-or-die situations, every possession, every game,” said Canadian veteran Natalie Achonwa, who said her fourth Olympics will be her last,

“When I take this jersey off, I hope that I left it better than I found it,” she added. “And that everyone back home knows that every time I put it on, I did it with the utmost amount of pride and passion.”