Katzberg breaks championship record to win hammer in Tokyo

Image: World Athletics, Mattia Ozbot

Canada's Ethan Katzberg continued with his hammer throw dominance and golden reign by retaining his world title with a championship record of 84.70m at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Tuesday (16).

Now the most dominant figure in the hammer since beating five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Katzberg arrived to the final having topped the qualifying round with a throw of 81.85m.

Katzberg’s title defence started strongly with an opening effort of 82.66m. But his lead was short lived, as moments later Germany's Merlin Hummel threw 82.77m to end the first round in pole position.

Katzberg, winner of the Olympic title last year, responded well on his second attempt, sending his hammer out to 84.70m to break the championship record and his own North American record. It’s also the longest throw in the world for 20 years.

In a remarkable series, all six of Katzberg’s throws were farther than his winning throw from the 2023 World Championships (81.25m). After his record-breaking throw in round two, the 23-year-old followed it with efforts of 82.01m, 81.86m, 83.07m and 83.73m.

His victory also marked the third global championships in a row in which Canada has secured a hammer double, thanks to Camryn Rogers winning the women’s title at the same three championships.

“I can't ask for much more,” said Katzberg. “The whole field was gunning for it and these were incredible results with four guys over 80 metres. That really pushed me to get the result that I had today. I thrive on really high level competition.

“I’m two metres away from the world record; I’m getting closer. After 84.70m, I was really trying to go for it. I’ll continue to push myself and push the limits of what I can do.

“Camryn (Rogers) put the pressure on me to perform tonight,” he added. “I watched her win the women's (hammer) final. It was an incredible performance from her, so for Canada to win the men's hammer tonight as well is amazing.”

After Katzberg regained the lead, Hummel followed with valid efforts of 80.71m in round two and 82.14m in round four to secure his first global medal.

Hungary’s Bence Halász secured his third consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships, time with an improved throw of 82.69m, his best ever at a major championships. The Olympic silver medallist, who topped the 2025 world list heading into Tokyo, produced his best mark in round three. All five of his valid throws landed beyond 80 metres..

Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan got off to a rough start, fouling his first two attempts. On his third, he landed on 78.36m, which moved him into fifth place. His fourth attempt was below the 80m mark, landing at 79.51m, but he improved in the fifth round with a personal best of 82.02m. In a high quality competition – the first in which four men has surpassed 82 metres – it was only enough for fourth.

A throw of 78.52m placed USA’s Rudy Winkler in fifth, Norwegian Thomas Mardal was sixth 78.02m and Fajdek was seventh (77.75m).

Story by: Michelle Katami for World Athletics