Ethan Katzberg wasn’t a model of consistency Wednesday, but he only needed one strong throw to win his fifth consecutive men’s hammer throw competition to start the 2025 season.
The reigning world and Olympic champion from Nanaimo, B.C., was the lone athlete in the field of seven to surpass 80 metres, throwing 80.19 in his third of six attempts at the Bislett Games Diamond League track and field meet in Oslo, Norway.
Katzberg, 23, came close to the 81.92 meet record by 36-year-old Wojciech Nowicki of Poland who was seventh (72.65) on a mostly sunny Wednesday at Bislett Stadium, where the temperature reached 17 C.
“I think I had a good result, maybe could have [had] a little more,” said Katzberg. “I have been over here in Europe for a while now, so this is my last competition here and I am returning home.”
Katzberg, who was third in Oslo two years ago, arrived at the stadium Wednesday fresh off an 80.15 performance at the June 3 Trond Mohn Games in Norway.
On May 31, the world’s top-ranked men’s hammer thrower was victorious at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, delivering a season-best and world-leading 82.73.
WATCH | Katzberg wins Kip Keino title in Nairobi:
Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C. threw a distance of 82.73 on his fourth throw to win the hammer throw Continental Tour stop in Nairobi, Kenya.
Ukraine’s Mykhalo Kokhan made is a close competition Wednesday with a 79.95 final throw for second, after the Canadian’s 79.74 effort.
“I managed to throw almost 80 metres, but still, I was missing that five centimetres and it is only 79, so I cannot be super satisfied with my result,” Kokhan said after his fifth event of the season. “I had to start the sixth attempt faster and it was a right decision.
‘All-or-nothing day’
Hometown favourite Thomas Mardal fouled four times but began his day with a personal-best throw of 78.25 to place third.
“Today was an all-or-nothing kind of day,” he said. “I have been consistently throwing over 77 metres this season, so I have been looking for 78 and I love throwing at Bislett [Stadium].
“It was special for me as I had my dad and wife here. At the end of the month I hope to represent Norway at the European Team Champs and after that it is all eyes on Tokyo [and the Sept. 13-21 worlds].”
Hammer throw is not contested regularly on the Diamond League professional circuit, so athletes do not accumulate points toward qualifying for the Diamond League Final in late August.
Katzberg admitted to feeling “a little drained” but still worked hard for a good result.
“Technically, it could have been a little more today,” he said, “but it is what it is and I am going home to prepare for the rest of the season.”
Katzberg opened Wednesday at 76.17 and then fouled before eclipsing 80 metres. He threw 77.33 on his fourth attempt and hasn’t thrown 76- and 77-low since early in the 2023 campaign. Katzberg also fouled on his fifth try.
Last August in Paris, Katzberg became Canada’s first Olympic hammer throw champion and earned the country’s first medal in the event since 1912.
At 22, he was the youngest-ever Summer Games hammer gold medallist. His winning throw of 84.12 was 26 cm short of the national and area (North and Central America and Caribbean) mark of 84.38 he hit in April 2024 at a meet in Nairobi.
A year earlier, Katzberg was the first Canadian to win a world title in hammer throw, a few days ahead of teammate Camryn Rogers’s victory in the women’s event in Budapest, Hungary.
Next for Katzberg is the July 5 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.
Keynan Olympic runner barred for suspected doping
Kenya’s Benard Kibet Koech, who finished fifth in the men’s 10,000-metre final at the Paris Olympics last summer, has been provisionally suspended for suspected doping, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Wednesday.
The athlete has been notified of a charge relating to irregularities in his athlete biological passport, the AIU said.
The biological passport can detect possible irregularities in blood values assessed over time without an athlete testing positive for a banned substance.
The 25-year-old long-distance runner was suspected of using a banned substance or method, the AIU said.