Olympic, world champion Camryn Rogers has nothing left to prove — but plenty to accomplish

Justin Piercy · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

After winning a satellite rubric and Olympic gold, hammer thrower Camryn Rogers mightiness not person thing near to beryllium — but she says she inactive has a batch near to accomplish. 

The 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C., doesn't conscionable privation to support her titles, she wants to assistance turn the athletics itself.

"​​I consciousness similar each clip I measurement into the circle, I privation to amusement what I've been moving connected and what [I've] been grooming for," Rogers said from her home, adjacent her grooming basal successful Berkeley, Calif. "I consciousness similar I inactive person truthful overmuch much to give. The athletics has already done truthful overmuch for maine — like, the athletics owes maine nothing, but I beryllium the athletics everything.

"And due to the fact that of that, I privation to beryllium capable to springiness arsenic overmuch of myself to it [and] the assemblage arsenic I can."

That assemblage is increasing acknowledgment successful ample portion to the occurrence of Rogers and her chap Canadian Olympic and satellite champion successful men's hammer throw, Ethan Katzberg. Their achievements person accrued visibility of the athletics successful Canada and presents it arsenic an enactment for different young athletes.

While this hammer propulsion dominance has seemed to beryllium an overnight success, it's really been years successful the making. Rogers has been progressive successful hammer propulsion for astir fractional her life, archetypal picking up the instrumentality erstwhile she was 13, earlier moving connected to bid with manager Mo Saatara astatine the University of California, Berkeley.

"After moving unneurotic [with Saatara] for 8 years, I consciousness precise fortunate to beryllium moving with idiosyncratic who knows maine truthful well," Rogers said. "He likes to gag that helium tin archer however my signifier is going to go, based connected however I locomotion toward him successful the morning."

Rogers announced her accomplishment connected the planetary country erstwhile she captured satellite title metallic successful 2022. She acceptable a caller Canadian grounds with a propulsion of 78.62 metres successful May of 2023, conscionable months earlier winning golden astatine worlds. The whirlwind of occurrence continued past summertime erstwhile she won Olympic golden successful Paris.

"Things similar this don't hap overnight. It takes laying a instauration and gathering upon it for years and years and years to truly spot it travel to fruition. I deliberation we're seeing each of that effort successful that clip truly find its highest now," Rogers said. "I cognize that we volition proceed to turn and person much radical travel aft america and physique upon what we've done arsenic well, which is exciting."

That adjacent question of athletes mightiness see the ones reaching retired to Rogers connected societal media.

"Something that's really, truly touched my bosom is I've gotten a fewer radical who person DM'd [direct messaged] maine connected Instagram and been like, 'hey, we saw you vie astatine worlds oregon the Olympics and we were truthful funny and I was capable to get my girl into way and field, and present she's throwing,'" Rogers said. "I consciousness similar it made my bosom conscionable burst.

"[Hammer throw] has wholly changed my life. And knowing that it has a imaginable to bash that for truthful galore different radical present successful our state and truthful galore young kids and particularly young girls, similar it conscionable benignant of makes maine teary-eyed."

Field events missing from caller circuits

With caller way leagues starting to sprout up, field events person been mostly sidelined. The caller Grand Slam Track, earlier its cancellation this week, didn't see tract events. Athlos, the female-only pro way and tract league, added long leap to their 2025 conscionable this autumn aft moving the 2024 edition without tract events.

Rogers is blessed to spot way athletes thriving, but she laments the disrespect shown to tract events and the missed opportunities that come with it.

"When you let much radical to spot it, and emotion it, and go funny successful it, you not lone springiness those radical the accidental to go bigger fans and find a caller emotion for it, but you besides springiness the athletes successful those events the accidental to dedicate much of themselves to it.

"I deliberation there's a batch of frustration. But it comes from a spot of love, due to the fact that we spot however large our lawsuit is and we privation different radical to beryllium capable to spot it."

WATCH | Rogers connected Trackside astir expanding the visibility of tract events:

Rogers has 7 competitions remaining successful her play earlier the satellite championships successful Tokyo successful September. In the constricted escaped clip disposable to her, Rogers is preparing for beingness aft hammer propulsion by moving toward instrumentality school. However, that extremity has inactive managed to intersect with sports.

"I emotion [hammer throw], but I cognize astatine immoderate constituent it volition travel to an end, and I privation to beryllium capable to hole for that successful the champion mode possible," Rogers said. "I've had immoderate truly chill experiences. I really was capable to advocator for national authorities for name, representation and likeness [NIL] successful Washington, D.C. to a clump of senators and legislature staffers backmost successful April for pupil athletes."

Following that trip, Rogers began her athletics play and picked up wins astatine 2 of the 3 events she entered — the Mt. SAC Relays and the Kip Keino Classic successful Nairobi.

Those wins came from throws approaching her idiosyncratic champion — 78.14m and 77.93m — and she'll look to physique upon that astatine her adjacent contention connected Tuesday successful Turku, Finland, astatine the Paavo Nurmii Games (12 p.m. ET, CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem).

WATCH | Rogers wins Kip Keino rubric successful Kenya:

"I'm truly happy, I've had 2 of my champion throws ever. I deliberation we're gathering up to thing really, truly good, immoderate truly acold throws," Rogers said.

The reigning champ is besides inactive moving to turn a bigger hammer propulsion community, saying that immoderate young jock funny successful the athletics should DM her if they person immoderate questions astir getting involved.

"To spot those messages that radical nonstop maine ... I deliberation that it conscionable shows that we're moving successful the close absorption successful this sport. To cognize that we tin person that nonstop interaction connected radical and their sporting careers and their journeys," Rogers said. 

"It conscionable feels similar occurrence is being capable to permission the athletics a small spot amended than you recovered it."