Ex-Cal Star Camryn Rogers Goes For More Hardware at World Track & Field

Rogers will compete in the women's hammer throw while rising junior Mykolas Alekna is a medal threat in the men's discus.

This is the next chapter in the track and field career of Camryn Rogers.

While winning three NCAA titles at Cal in the women’s hammer throw, Rogers also placed fifth in the event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics then claimed a silver medal at the World Championships last summer at Eugene, Oregon.

Now, having turned in her thesis a week ago to complete her master’s degree work, Rogers is officially a post-collegiate athlete. A professional.

She is among three current or former Cal athletes who will compete at the World Championships, which begin Saturday at Budapest, Hungary.

Cal's Mykolas Alekna is the collegiate record-holder in the discus / Photo courtesy of European Athletics

Rising junior Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, the No. 3-ranked men’s discus thrower in the world, will try to match or improve on the silver medal he won at this meet as a 19-year-old last summer. Qualifying is Saturday and finals are for Monday.

Rogers and recent Cal grad Anna Purchase of England will throw in the hammer qualifying next Wednesday, with the finals a day later. Purchase, 23, enters the competition with a No. 14 seed.

Rogers, the 24-year-old Canadian, became the greatest female hammer thrower in college history, recording the 11 longest marks by an NCAA athlete.

She ranks No. 2 on the 2023 world list, trailing American Brooke Andersen, the reigning world champ. Rogers handed Andersen her only defeat of the season on May 26 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix meet, where Rogers delivered a personal-best throw of 257 feet, 11 inches (78.62 meters).

“It felt really good,” Rogers said. “It surprised me in a lot of ways, but like in the best way possible. I’m starting to understand the hammer throw and we’re really achieving these new levels of competitive awareness.”

Camryn Rogers / Photo courtesy of Athletics Canada

Her performance lifted Rogers to No. 5 on the all-time world list.

Three of the four women ahead of her will compete at Budapest, led by Andersen, whose best of 263-0 (80.73) is No. 3 on the list. No. 2 is fellow American and 2019 world champ DeAnna Price, 30, who has a career best of 263-6 (80.31).

Hoping to recapture past magic is three-time Olympic champion Anita Włodarczyk of Poland, whose seven-year-old world record of 272-3 (82.98) is nearly nine feet beyond what anyone else has thrown. Wlodarczyk, 38, missed last year’s World Championships with an injury and has a 2023 best of 245-5 (74.81).

Another veteran contender is China’s Wang Zheng, 35, winner of three medals at the Worlds along with a silver at Tokyo. She has a season best of 243-2 (74.12), and no official marks since early April.

By comparison, Rogers has stayed at a consistently high level this season, throwing better than 249 feet (and 76 meters) in all 10 of her meets, including four competitions in a two-week span during her first-ever European tour in June.

“There’s definitely a lot more in the tank,” she said, “and it’s making me excited for Budapest to see what we can put together on the day when it counts.”

Rogers traveled to Barcelona, Spain to train with the Canadian team for several days before trekking to Budapest on Wednesday.

“I talk to people and I have not heard a single bad thing about this city. Everybody loves Budapest,” Rogers said. “I can’t wait to head into the circle in Budapest and show everything we’ve been working on.”

Cover photo of former Cal star Camryn Rogers at the 2022 World Championships by Kirby Lee, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo