Camryn Rogers Set For `Insane' World Championship Competition

Tokyo will host what looms as potentially the greatest women’s hammer throw competition in history at the World Athletics Championships beginning this weekend.

“The competition’s going to be insane,” Cal grad and Canadian Camryn Rogers said. “I think everyone’s going to bring their `A’ game. It speaks to how amazing a point we’re at in women’s hammer throwing right now.”

“That’s what makes it so much fun and brings the energy to it.”

Rogers, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist and favorite to defend her world title from two years ago, nonetheless faces a ferocious field of competitors.

Five of the top six throwers in history will gather and the field includes nine women who reside in the top 20 all-time.

“When you start to think about the level of competition, it can be a little bit overwhelming,” said the 26-year-old former three-time NCAA champ at Cal. “But I love stress, I love pressure, I love that high-intensity feeling, I love high energy.”

Qualifying in the women’s hammer will be held Sunday at 9 a.m. local time, which translates to 5 p.m. PT on Saturday. Finals are Monday at 9 p.m. in Tokyo, which is 5 a.m. PT the same day.

Six other athletes with ties to Cal will compete at the Worlds, which run from Saturday through Sunday, Sept. 21:

— World-recordholder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, will attempt to win a gold medal in the men’s discus after securing a silver at the Paris Olympics and silver and bronze medals at the 2022 and ’23 World Chmpionships. Track and Field News projects him as the winner.

— England’s Georgia Hunter Bell, who ran at Cal a decade ago and was a bronze medalist at 1,500 at the Paris Games, is seeded No. 3 in the 800 with a season and personal best of 1:55.96.

— Others are Anna Purchase of England, seeded 15th in the women’s hammer throw; Canadian Rowan Hamilton, seeded 25th in the discus; Caisa-Marie Lindfors of Sweden, seeded 27th seed in the women’s discus; Valentina Savva of Cypress, seeded 34th in the women’s hammer.

No. 1-ranked in the world, Rogers is enjoying her best season, having thrown a personal-best 258 feet, 9 inches (78.88 meters), which lands her No. 5 on the all-time list and second in the 2025 listings.

She has won nine of 10 competitions she has entered, including the past seven in a row.

“I’m excited. It’s been my best season by far competitively,” Rogers said. “I re-broke my Canadian record. I’ve had three competitions this year where I’ve thrown over 78 meters. When I broke 78 for the first time two years ago, I hit it once and it took two years to hit it again.

“I think the energy at Worlds is going to allow me to hit that last gear.”

The competition at Tokyo

Rogers is preparing for a competition that may require a big-time throw to win. Here’s the roster of the top entries:

— American Brooke Anderson, 30, boasts a world-leading throw of 260-1 (79.29) and recorded the No. 3 all-time mark of 263-0 (80.17) in 2023. She won the 2022 World title but missed out on the Paris Olympics. Rogers has won their past four head-to-head meetings.

— DeAnna Price, a 32-year-old American, is No. 4 on the 2025 world list at 257-7 (78.53) and her best of 263-6 (80.31) from 2021 resides at No. 2 on the all-time list. Price won the U.S. title this year but was just 11th at the Paris Games. Rogers owns a 7-2 all-time edge vs. Price.

— A third American, Rachel Richeson, 25, is third on the yearly world list at 258-6 (78.80), which is No. 6 all-time. Rogers is 5-0 in competitions against Richeson.

— A wild card in the event is 18-year-old Chinese thrower Jiale Zhang, who threw 253-5 (77.24) last month, which places her fifth in the world this season. “That’s super-freakin' far,” said Rogers, who will compete against her for the first time. “For her to do it so young is just awesome.”

— A pair of women from Finland have emerged in recent years. Krista Tervo, 27, and Silja Kosonen, 22, are sixth and seventh on the yearly world list. Both were top-8 finishers at the Paris Olympics. Rogers has a 10-1 record vs. Tervo, 13-1 vs. Kosonen.

— Not to be counted out, but a long shot to win, is 40-year-old Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland. She is the world-recordholder at 272-3 (82.98), is a three-time Olympic champion and a four-time gold medalist at the Worlds. Battling age and injury in recent years, she was fourth at Paris last summer.

Rogers, who has prevailed the past seven times they’ve squared off, has gotten to know Wlodarczyk on a casual basis over recent seasons. “She’ll come up and give me a hug,” Rogers said. "It’s kind of surreal in a way. She’s an absolute legend. She’s also super-sweet.”

Rogers is ready for whatever comes her way this weekend at Tokyo.

“We’re working our way toward some big throws,” she said. “It’s about preparing to be comfortable with that next level of discomfort of doing something you’ve never done before.”

Farewell to Berkeley

Rogers, who has lived in Berkeley since enrolling at Cal in the fall of 2017, will move to Austin, Texas, after returning from the World Championships so she can continue to train under throws coach Mo Saatara, hired late last spring by the University of Texas.

After eight years, three NCAA championships and three Berkeley degrees, Rogers shares her emotions about the move in the video above.

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