After three global golds, Katzberg hammers path to Ultimate honour

At 23 years of age, Ethan Katzberg already has a hat-trick of global honours to his name.

And after a successful defence of his world title with a North American and championship record throw of 84.70m – the farthest by anyone in 20 years – the Canadian hammer star has set his sights on more glory in 2026.

By virtue of winning Olympic gold in Paris last year, Katzberg had already qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, the scene of the first of his international title wins in 2023.

And having been part of a contest at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 in which four men threw beyond 82 metres, as Katzberg took gold ahead of Germany’s Merlin Hummel and Hungary’s Bence Halasz, the Canadian believes they will raise the bar further yet.

“I think having it (the inaugural Ultimate Championship) in Budapest in Hungary, the fans are absolutely incredible,” said Katzberg of the new event, which will be held in Budapest from 11-13 September 2026. “They’ll be cheering Bence on. After the World Championships in 2023, getting back there for a major is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to it.

“To have hammer in that field is something that’s really special and I think that it’s going to be a major event. All those guys that were throwing far today, they’re going to be throwing far then. They’re going to throw that far if not farther, so it’s definitely going to be motivating for the whole field.”

Katzberg has not even been in the sport for 10 years, only taking it up aged 14 when he saw his father coaching his discipline and thought it looked like fun.

An accomplished athlete in his youth, basketball was his main passion, but Katzberg was also a cross-country runner and played football and volleyball.

Initially, hammer throwing was a family affair as Katzberg trained with his sibling Jessica and father Bernie, but he has since gone on to become the benchmark for the sport globally.

Having wrapped up a second world title in Tokyo, after impressing in qualification with a 81.85m throw, Katzberg admitted he was further motivated by the performances of his rivals.

“Coming off the season that everybody’s had, I knew it was going to be a very strong field,” he said. “I didn’t think four people were going to throw over 82. To have that level of competition at major finals, that’s what I want and that’s what motivates me.

“To feel like I’m on top of that battle, that’s really incredible. This is something that will probably be historic in the hammer throwing realm. I will continue to push myself and push the limits of what I can do.”

Canada has both world champions in the hammer, with Camryn Rogers also having won the past three global titles in the women’s event, and Katzberg readily admits that her latest victory in Tokyo had put the pressure on him to perform.

He did just that, with a new career best helping him edge ever closer to the world record of 86.74m set by Yuriy Sedykh all the way back in 1986.

But before targeting further records, first Katzberg planned to focus on celebration. After winning gold in Tokyo, he said his aim was to buy Pokemon cards as well as some green tea and matcha.

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