Camryn Rogers makes history with successful defence of hammer throw world title and record-setting mark

Camryn Rogers made history in more than one way when she won gold in the women’s hammer throw at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. 

She became the first Canadian to successfully defend a world title in an individual athletics event. She posted the longest distance the world has seen in women’s hammer throw since July 2017, becoming the second best athlete all time in the event. She broke her own Canadian record yet again and also laid claim to the NACAC (North America, Central America, Caribbean) area record. 

“I think I’m feeling every single emotion under the sun all at once. Tonight was just everything that we could have possibly hoped for in the competition,” said Rogers. “For everything to come together at a major championship, it makes these moments so special. To win the world championship once is very hard to do, but to defend it is even harder.” 

A day after topping the qualification round, Rogers wasted no time taking the lead in the final. She launched her first throw 78.09m—further than the marks she hit to win Olympic gold last summer and her first world title the year before. It would have stood up to win her the gold medal in Tokyo if she hadn’t flown right past it with her second attempt. 

Her next time in the throwing circle, Rogers hit 80.51m, becoming just the fourth woman to ever surpass the 80-metre mark. It was the seventh-best distance all-time in the women’s hammer throw, with the first six spots all owned by Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, who won three straight Olympic gold medals before Rogers triumph at Paris 2024. 

In the end, Rogers’ winning distance was almost three metres clear of the field. A pair of Chinese athletes won silver and bronze, with Jie Zhao finishing as the runner-up with a best effort of 77.60m and Jiale Zhang just behind at 77.10m.

“Coach Mo and I knew that, going into the season, it was going to take a big throw to really lock that in. To do it on my second throw was pretty crazy,” Rogers said. “Then to be able to come back and have a consistent series, even throw a 79 on my last throw, it was everything that I could have possibly ever dreamed of in a competition. I’m on cloud nine.”

Only one other time has Canada won back-to-back titles in an event at the World Athletics Championships. That was the men’s 4x100m relay in 1995 and 1997, which featured Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin, and Donovan Bailey. 

Canada’s other Olympic hammer throw champion, Ethan Katzberg, will aim to defend his world title on Tuesday. He topped the qualification round on Monday with a throw of 81.85m achieved on his first attempt.