Cal Alum Camryn Rogers Easily into Hammer Throw Finals at Paris

NCAA champ Rowan Hamilton of Cal finishes ninth in the men's hammer throw

Camryn Rogers in hammer throw qualifying / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reigning world champion Camryn Rogers easily advanced to the finals of the women’s hammer throw, posting a qualifying mark on her second attempt at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Cal grad threw 245 feet, 0 inches (74.69 meters) to achieve the necessary qualifying mark of 73.00 meters.

The British Columbia will compete in the finals on Tuesday at 10:57 a.m. PDT.

Rogers, who was fifth at the Tokyo Games, had the day’s second-longest throw. She has a season best of 255-1 (77.76) and her year-old lifetime best of 257-11 (78.62) ranks her No. 5 on the all-time world list.

Finland’s Krista Tervo, 26, set a national record with a mark of 245-4 (74.79 meters), topping her previous best by more than 5 feet.

Also advancing are Annette Nneka Echikunwoke, the surprise U.S. trials winner, who threw 241-2 (73.52) to finish second behind Rogers in the first qualifying group, and China’s Jie Zhao, who had a mark of 237-10 (72.49) in the same group.

Runnerup to Tervo in the second qualifying group was American recordholder Deanna Price, eighth at the past two Olympics.  Price threw 242-1 (73.79).

The last of 12 spots in the final went to 38-year-old Polish legend Anita Włodarczyk, the world-recordholder and three-time reigning Olympic champion. Slowed the past two years by injury, Włodarczyk threw 233-2 (71.06) on her final attempt, well off her eight-year-old world record of 272-3 (82.98).

Rowan Hamilton prepares to unleash a throw at Paris. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rowan Hamilton, Canada: The NCAA champion, who transferred to Cal this season from the University if British Columbia, finished ninth in the men’s hammer throw final in his first Olympics.

Hamilton, 24, threw a lifetime-best 255-2 inches (77.78 meters) in Friday’s qualifying round, but managed just 251-3 (76.59) on his only fair throw of Sunday’s final. 

After fouling on his second and third attempts, Hamilton missed by one spot the opportunity to throw three more times.

His countryman, reigning world champion and heavy favorite Ethan Katzberg, 22, won by a margin of nearly 14 feet with a first-round throw of 276-0 (84.12). Bence Halasz of Hungary won the silver medal at 262-4 (79.97)