Katzberg smashes championship record to win second straight hammer throw world title
Another day, another history-making moment for Canada at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as Olympic champion hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg is now a two-time world champion.
The 23-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C. broke the championship record with the longest throw in the world since 2005 to win the gold medal.
Katzberg started the final off strongly, sending his first throw 82.66m. That put him in the lead until the last thrower of the first round, Germany’s Merlin Hummel, threw 82.77m on his first attempt.
While that would be Hummel’s best effort of the final, Katzberg came back with a huge throw of 84.70m on his second attempt. That erased his Canadian record of 84.38m set in April 2024. It was a full metre better than the previous championship record of 83.63m that had stood since 2007 and it moved Katzberg up to fifth place on the all time performers list.
The reigning Olympic champion had clean throws on all six of his attempts in the final. His last two throws measured 83.07m and 83.73m, either of which would have secured him the victory. Hummel took the silver ahead of Hungary’s Bence Halasz, whose best throw measured 82.69m.
“Coming off the season that everybody’s had, I knew it was going to be a very strong field. I didn’t think four people were going to throw over 82 metres. I don’t know if that’s ever happened. It’s never happened in my career to have that level of competition at a major finals. That’s what I want and that’s what motivates me, and to be able to come out on top of that battle is really incredible,” Katzberg said.
Canada has won three gold medals in the first four days of competition in Tokyo. Evan Dunfee got things started on Saturday by becoming Canada’s first ever world champion race walker with his victory in the men’s 35km race walk. On Monday, Camryn Rogers successfully defended her world title in the women’s hammer throw.
Katzberg joins her as the only Canadians to win back-to-back world titles in an individual athletics event.
In other news on Tuesday, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford finished 11th in the women’s 1500m final. She has overcome multiple injuries since competing at her last major global meet, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Reigning world champion Marco Arop got his title defence started in the heats of the men’s 800m, advancing through to the semifinals on Thursday.
