World T&F Championships: Camryn Rogers Wins Silver Medal in Hammer Throw
Canadian Camryn Rogers secured the highest finish ever by a Cal athlete at the World Track and Field Championships, placing second in the women’s hammer throw on Sunday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Rogers, who won her third NCAA title for the Bears as a senior this past spring, threw 247 feet, 9 inches (75.52 meters) to claim the silver medal and improve upon her fifth-place finish at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
“Amazing stuff,” said Mo Saatara, who is Rogers’ personal coach and Cal’s throws coach. “It’s great to see the results from all the work. And it’s great for our program.”
Camryn Rogers at the World Championships
"It was definitely a goal that Coach Mo and I had, to chase the podium," Rogers told CalBears.com. "To come here and execute, to get the job done when it counts the most… this medal is a culmination of everything that we've worked for this entire season and the years leading up to now."
Three times previously a Cal athlete or alum has finished as high as third place at the World Championships, two of them at the outdoor competition:
- Atlee Mahorn, Canada, 3rd in the men’s 200 meters, 1991
- Chris Huffins, U.S., 3rd in the decathlon, 1999
- Alysia Johnson, U.S., 3rd in the women’s 800, 2010 (indoors)
American Brooke Andersen, the world leader most of this season, won the title with a mark of 259-1 (78.96), giving the home team a victory in the first time the World Championships ever made it to the United States. Fellow American Janee’ Kassanavoid, who entered with the No. 2 park, earned the bronze medal with a throw of 245-7 (74.86).
“She’s a formidable thrower,” Saatara said of Andersen, a 26-year-old former Northern Arizona thrower.
Absent from the field was Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, 36, the three-time reigning Olympic champion and four-time world champ who owns the six longest throws in history and 15 of the top 16. She had surgery last month after being injured while stopping someone breaking into her car.
Camryn Rogers
Photo hy Kirby Lee, USA Today
Rogers entered the competition seeded No. 3 with her best mark of 254-10 (77.67), which established a collegiate record this year.
She delivered her second-place throw in the third round and had two other marks beyond 75 meters. Rogers led through three rounds before Andersen moved ahead of her.
Mykolas Alekna, who set a collegiate record in the men's discus as a Cal freshman this spring, was scheduled to compete in the qualifying round later Sunday at Eugene. The 19-year-old Lithuanian is seeded among the top four entries in the competition.
Rogers will have one more competition this season, the Commonwealth Games, beginning late this month in Birmingham, England.
Saatara said his 23-year-old protégée is just getting started.
“She’s only going to go from here,” he said. “She still learning. She’s not a finished product yet.”
Andersen, 10th at the Olympics last summer, scored a decisive victory with three attempts beyond 77 meters. Her best mark came in the sixth and final round.
Discus-thrower Alekna is top qualifier for finals
Mykolas Alekna, who recently completed his freshman season at Cal, was the top qualifier in the men's discus.
The 19-year-old from Lithuania threw 226 feet, 1 inch (68.91 meters) on his second attempt to surpass the automatic qualifier of 66.00 meters and advance to Tuesday's final.
Both of Alekna's chief rivals -- Kristjan Ceh, the world leader from Slovenia, and reigning Olympic champ Daniel Stahl of Sweden -- also qualified for the final.
Cover photo of medalists Camryn Rogers, Brooke Andersen and Janet Kassanavoid by Kirby Lee, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo