Cal Track and Field: Camryn Rogers Already Has a Spot on Canada's Olympic Team - Kinda
Camryn Rogers has not thrown herself a party to celebrate, or even acknowledged the likely reality, but barring a shocking set of circumstances the Cal senior will be a member of the Canadian Olympic track and field team.
Athletics Canada, which governs the sport in her home country, informed Rogers and Cal throws coach Mo Saatara that she will not be required to compete for a roster spot at the June 24-27 Canadian trials in Montreal.
Rogers, who will try to defend her NCAA championship in the hammer throw next week in Eugene, Oregon, is the only Canadian athlete with the Olympic standard in the event.
As a result, and because of travel complications stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Athletics Canada on May 21 altered its procedure for securing a spot on the Olympic team.
Ultimately, the national teams committee will select athletes who will compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. That body can choose up to three women in the event — if Canada has three qualified throwers — so three other women would need to be prioritized over the current national leader in the event for Rogers to be left off the team.
Amanda Nigh, communications director for Athletics Canada, indicated that Rogers is quite likely to be on the team roster but said nothing is certain.
“You would assume whoever has the best distance or time would be a shoo-in but there’s no guarantee,” Nigh explained in a phone interview. “An event like the hammer, knowing we don’t have a lot of depth in Canada in that event, I would say it’s fair to assume Camryn would be nominated for the event but it’s not a guarantee.”
Camryn Rogers competing for Canada in 2019.
Photo by Vidal Tarqui / Lima 2019
Here’s the official statement from Athletics Canada on the qualifying procedure change:
Travel restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19 are likely to make it impossible and/or unreasonable for athletes who live outside of Canada to travel across the border to compete at the Trials. For this reason, there is no requirement that athletes must compete at the Trials to be nominated for the Tokyo Olympic team.
Rogers’ season and career best of 73.09 meters (239 feet, 9 inches) exceeds the Olympic qualifying standard of 72.50 and ranks her No. 17 on the world list. Oregon alum Jillian Wier is next among Canadians at 72.29 meters (237-2), and still needs to get the automatic qualifier.
Even if Wier achieves the standard, Rogers would appear safe unless two other Canadian throwers prove more worthy. The country’s third-best thrower is ranked 101st on the world list and the No. 4 entry is 141st — with a throw more than 30 feet off Rogers’ best.
Asked if she believes she is on the Olympic team now, Rogers said, “Theoretically. We never say anything is for sure until it happens.”
“Our mentality always, whether we’re dialing with the NCAAs, defending the championship, is expect nothing, earn everything,” Cal throws coach Mo Saatara said. “They may come back after this interview and say, `We need you to go.’ I don’t know. We’re ready for all options.”
Rogers, who turns 22 on Monday, said she appreciates that national team officials recognize the difficulty in a COVID world for college athletes in the U.S. or post-collegiate athletes training and competing worldwide returning to Canada for the trials.
"It’s really hard to go back to Canada right now,” she said. “There’s a mandate right now in Canada when you fly into the country you ned to stay in a hotel for three days to quarantine and you have to pay $2,000 for those three days and you have to get negative tests.
"We’re both vaccinated but that’s not a considering factor through the quarantine process. It’s just a very difficult situation.”
Rogers said the past year has taught her a valuable lesson.
“Absolutely anything can happen,” she said, noting the pandemic but even crazy events at the NCAA West regional meet at Texas A&M, where she said “the track was melting” in the heat and the electronic measuring device malfunctioned.
She is focused right now on the NCAA meet at Oregon, where she is the favorite but will face a strong field. Then she awaits Tokyo, with the hammer throw qualifying on Aug. 1 and the finals on Aug. 3.
Rogers and her coach agreed they will celebrate on Aug. 4.
Cover photo of Camryn Rogers by John McGillen