It was her first toss that secured Camryn Rogers a place on the podium and in the Canadian record books. Her throw of 77.22 metres stood as the winner in the women's hammer throw event at the World Athletics Championships.
鈥淚t really was just this moment of, 'I just won',鈥� said Rogers.
The 24-year-old British Columbian spoke with CTV National News following her official medal ceremony on Friday.
鈥淚t was so magical鈥� she said of the ceremony.
The gold dangling around her neck, a beaming smile, Rogers could hardly find the words to describe what it was like when she realized she had won gold.
鈥淚 think coming out of the cage and seeing the crowd and seeing everyone there cheering and just celebrating the fact that we had this historic competition, it鈥檚 that moment that you dare to dream of ... that you hope to have, and that you make as your ultimate goal,鈥� said Rogers. 鈥淎nd I think to be able to do it with my family in the stands with my coach right there with my teammates it was so, so cool.鈥�
Rogers was just 12-and-a-half when she tossed her first hammer and says she loves the sport more every day. The women throw a hammer weighing 8.8 lbs, the men鈥檚 weigh 16 lbs.
鈥淪o theirs is the weight of a bowling ball and I鈥檓 just happy I don鈥檛 have to throw that,鈥� Rogers said with a laugh.
This makes Rogers just the second Canadian woman to win a gold medal at the World Championships. But that鈥檚 not where the records end. Her win comes after Canada鈥檚 Ethan Katzberg won gold in the men鈥檚 event on Saturday, also a first for the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so special and for us to bring home double gold, and men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hammer throw I think makes it even more amazing. Ethan did so well, his first world championship as a 21-year-old and a personal best --- he absolutely crushed it!鈥� said Rogers of her teammate.
The Canadian sweep making headlines around the world. Until now, Canada only held four individual gold medals at the World Athletics Championships.
鈥淭hese two athletes are -- I mean, they鈥檙e special, they鈥檙e really special. And the fact they鈥檝e come through it together, they are incredibly young for hammer throwing -- it's an older person sport -- and they've really arrived with a bang,鈥� said Simon Nathan, high performance director for Athletics Canada.
Nathan attributes the success to the dedication and commitment of Canadian coaches, some who are former athletes and now pushing current athletes further than they went themselves.
鈥淩eally good technical coaching and collaborative coaching within Canada and sharing of ideas has really worked well,鈥� said Nathan.
Making this sweep even more spectacular is where the event is being held.
鈥淲e're in Budapest, hammer throwing is essentially the national sport of Hungary and there were 30 to 40,000 people going crazy in the stadium,鈥� said Nathan 鈥淭hese guys have really made a hit, both of them, and are being talked about by every country that has in interest in the throwing events at all.鈥�
That had added to the excitement for Canadian athletes, who continue to cheer each other on, and the confidence they鈥檙e hoping to take with them to the Paris Olympics next year.
鈥淲e are a strong hammer country, which is really cool to say because everyone who is on this team, they鈥檙e just such fantastic people, and I think we鈥檙e proving that we are forced to be reckon with on the world stage,鈥� Rogers said
