Cal at the Olympics: Camryn Rogers Briefly Leads, Winds Up Fifth in Hammer Throw

The 22-year-old equals the best placing by a Cal woman in Olympic track & field.

Cal’s Camryn Rogers, who briefly held the lead early in the Olympic women’s hammer throw competition, closed out a long and successful season with a fifth-place finish at Tokyo on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Canadian, in her first Olympics, matched the best finish by a Cal female track and field athlete at the Olympics. Alysia Johnson Montano was fifth in the 800 meters at the 2012 London Games, her place later elevated to fourth after another athlete was disqualified for doping.

The reigning two-time NCAA champion and collegiate recordholder, Rogers unleashed a throw of 74.35 meters — 243 feet, 11 inches — on her second attempt to move to the top of the leaderboard.

Camryn Rogers / Photo by Kirby Lee, USA Today

Her place there was short-lived.

China’s Zheng Wang threw 75.30 (247-0) immediately after Rogers’ big effort, pushing into the lead. But Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk — the world-recordholder and two-time defending Olympic champ, erased that with a toss of 76.01 (249-4) to take charge.

Wlodarczyk solidified her bid for a third Olympic gold when she released a throw of 78.48 (257-6) on her third try of the night. That effort easily held up as the winning mark.

Poland’s Malwina Kopron climbed into second place with a season-best throw of 75.49 (247-8) but Wang reclaimed the silver-medal position with an effort of 77.03 (252-8) in the final round.

Rogers, undefeated as a collegiate thrower since the start of the 2019 season, could not improve upon her second-round throw. She had fouls on four of her six attempts and she managed just 71.14 (233-5) on her legal fifth-round attempt.

France’s Alexandra Tavernier climbed past her into fourth place with a final-round throw of 71.41 (244-1).

Still, it was an important career stepping stone for Rogers, who was the youngest of 11 athletes in the hammer throw final and plans to return to Cal for a final season next spring. She threw 75.52 meters (247-9) this spring to defend her NCAA crown and set a collegiate record.

That mark placed Rogers at No. 5 in the world entering the Olympics.

Cal throws coach Mo Saatara at the Olympics

Rogers outperformed three American athletes who expected to challenge for spots on the medal podium.

Former Arizona State star Deanna Price, who entered the Olympics with a world-leading throw of 80,31 (263-6), barely made the cut for the final eight and wound up a disappointing eighth place (73.09/239-9).

Brooke Andersen and Gwen Berry, who also resided among the top-5 worldwide entering the Tokyo Games, could not finish among the top-8 throwers who were given three final attempts on Tuesday, They finished 10th and 11th.

Illes, Tarrago advance in women's water polo

Two of the six Cal athletes who competed in the women's water polo quarterfinals advanced with their teams to the semifinals.

Anna Illes’ Hungary team eliminated Kitty Lynn Joustra’s Netherlands’ squad 14-11 in a battle of former Cal teammates.

Illes and Joustra were teammates on Cal’s 2018 squad, and Illes, who was a senior in 2018, had a major role in Hungary’s victory, scoring three goals on four shots. The score was tied 10-10, but Hungary outscored the Dutch 4-1 over the final six minutes to eke out the win.

Joustra, a rising senior for the Golden Bears, scored the first goal of the game, but did not score again.

Anna Illes. Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports

---A second former Cal player, Roser Tarrago, also advanced to the semifinals. Tarrago scored a goal to help Spain defeat China 11-7.

Tarrago and Illes will go against each other when Spain faces off against Hungary in the semifinals.

---The three former Cal players who are members of the Canada squad failed to reach the semifinals as the Canadians lost to the United States 16-5.

Canada’s Kindred Paul and Emma Wright were also members of that 2018 Golden Bears team along with Illes and Joustra, and Wright scored a goal in the quarterfinal loss. Kelly McKee, a 2015 graduate of Cal, took three shots for the Canadians but did not score. 

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