A history-making medal helped voters decide who would win the Canadian Press Male Athlete in 2024.
Hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg received the honor for his gold performance at the Olympic Games in Paris. He is Canada’s first Olympic champion at the event and won the country’s first hammer throw medal since 1912.
Katzberg received 17 of the 56 votes cast by sports editors, producers and reporters across Canada, narrowly beating Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the award last year and received 14 votes, and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had 13 votes. to vote.
“That’s incredible,” Katzberg said of the achievement. “These are two high-achieving athletes who have performed incredibly well in their respective sports. That’s really cool.”
The Canadian press began recognizing male and female athletes of the year in 1932.
Other previous male winners include hockey players Sidney Crosby (2007, 2009, 2010) and Carey Price (2015), basketball player Steve Nash (2002, 2005, 2006) and fellow athletes Donovan Bailey (1996), Andre De Grasse (2016) and Damian Warner (2021).
“There are not many hammer throwers in the world. It’s an almost obsolete sport, but Katzberg showed what years of solitary dedication can do,” wrote The Globe and Mail’s Phil King. “He was an inspiration to athletes around the world to keep trying, no matter how obscure your sport is. ”
Reaching the top of the podium this year was an all-encompassing undertaking, Katzberg said.
“It was a 150 percent commitment to Paris, right? “There wasn’t much focus on anything else,” he said. “And when we had that one moment to show all the work we put into it, and everything went great, everything connected at once, there were a lot of emotions. , lots of energy. It was an incredibly special moment.”
The 22-year-old from Nanaimo, BC, was a dominant force in the Olympic finals.
His first throw was the winner and measured no less than 84.12 meters. No other thrower exceeded the 80 meter mark.
The distance was just shy of the personal best of 84.38 meters he threw at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 20.
Katzberg’s success – combined with that of fellow American Camryn Rogers, who won Olympic gold in the women’s hammer throw – led to a growing interest in the sport across the country.
“That puts a smile on my face,” he said. “That’s something that I don’t think a lot of people realize, that a lot of athletes realize, that they can have that impact on the younger generation. It doesn’t matter on what scale. That’s an incredible feeling.”
Three days later, after his Olympic victory, Katzberg was back training in Slovakia. He returned to Paris for the closing ceremony after being named flag bearer alongside record-breaking swimmer and CP athlete of the year Summer McIntosh.
The duo was easy to recognize, in part because of the pitcher’s 6-foot-4 frame, signature mustache and shoulder-length hair.
“To walk into the stadium holding the flag, obviously with another very talented athlete and have a moment where I think, ‘Okay, that was my Olympic experience,’ I was able to take it all in,” says Katzberg . said, “And that was really special for me, to kind of understand what just happened.”
There was a small accident on the way to the busy Stade de France, he admitted.
“As we walked into the stadium, we were waving the flag and there was a volunteer we were following, and I think I accidentally hit him once or twice with the flag,” he said. “We were just new to waving the flag correctly. .So that was the dry run, I guess.
After realizing his Olympic dream, Katzberg took a month off in September. He didn’t participate. He hasn’t trained. He simply spent time with loved ones and tried to recharge physically and emotionally.
“It’s interesting because you’re working towards something and it’s kind of like a pressure cooker of energy,” Katzberg said. “You build up to this one moment for so long, and then you have that moment, and then you’re like, ‘Okay, this is all I’ve been thinking about for so long. What do I do next?’
“So I’m still figuring that out, to be honest. I’m just taking it day by day. I have such an incredible passion for hammer throw, it’s just always there. And I’ll keep pushing as I do my every effort to get back that feeling I had before Paris.
Over the past few months, Katzberg has shared that passion with thousands of students, athletes and supporters. At various festivities and gatherings, he has given people the opportunity to hold and create the gold medal that was draped around his neck in Paris.
The hardware will one day be added to a special display case, but for now, Katzberg is enjoying the joy it brings to others.
“It’s a way to make it tangible. The number of people who can actually hold one or wear one or whatever is quite small. So to be able to share that with them, I really enjoy that,” he said. “Having a chat and passing it around the room, and everyone can take a photo with it and share that moment with you, which is pretty special.”