Charged by repeat Absa Kip Keino glory, the omens for a second world title at Tokyo 2025 look good for Canadian Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg
“I started my professional career in Kenya as a junior. To be able to keep coming back and keep performing well, it's always an amazing feeling. There's something really awesome about this country.”
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 3- Canadian Olympic men’s Hammer throw champion, Ethan Katzberg believes the omens of adding a second world title at Tokyo 2025 in September look great after successfully defending his Absa Kip Keino Classic title in Kenya.
The British Columbia native uncorked three throws over the 80m mark last Saturday (May 31) in his four legal attempts, with the fourth throw of 82.73m striking a second successive Kip Keino gold in a world leading mark at the packed Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
Last year, he arrived in Kenya as the Budapest 2023 world champion for his second appearance in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, to open his season and duly took the top honours in 84.38m, his lifetime best and Area Record at the Nyayo National Stadium on April 20, 2024.
An astonishing run of eight straight victories followed his Kip Keino Classic romp before he landed in France to hammer his way to Olympic glory 84.12m on August 4, 2024.
Katzberg also owns the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile gold and a silver from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK in his expanding medal collection.
His latest victory at Kip Keino Classic extended his unbeaten sequence this year to three—after top honours at the Lotto Diechmeeting (79.32m) on May 17 and the 50. Halplus Werfertage (81.22m) on May 24, both in Germany.
But the 23-year-old now believes his charge for the Tokyo 2025 has good tidings after once again coming to Kenya and delivering a dominant victory—- none of the assembled field managed a throw over 80m in Nairobi.
“I definitely hold Kenya close in my career,” he told this website.
Despite arriving just a few hours before the start of the Absa Kip Keino Classic — the sixth stop of the 2025 Continental Tour Gold Series— Katzberg managed to thrill the vocal crowd with a world leading victory, the only athlete infield or the track who managed that feat on the day.
“I started my professional career in Kenya as a junior. To be able to keep coming back and keep performing well, it's always an amazing feeling. There's something really awesome about this country,” he added.
Matija Greguric of Croatia took silver after setting a new personal best of 76.68m, while Hungary’s Dániel Rába came third with a season’s-best of 75.93m.
Now coached by Dylan Armstrong, the Beijing 2008 Olympics men’s Shot put bronze winner and Bernie Katzberg, the Paris 2024 champion first came to Kenya during the Nairobi 2020 World Under-20 Championships that was pushed to 2021 by the global coronavirus pandemic.
Legal throw
Unfortunately, he did not register a legal throw in the final as Jan Doležálek of Czechia won gold with a throw of 77.83m. Greece’s Orestis Ntousakis (77.78m) took silver, while France’s Jean Baptiste Bruxelle (77.70m) clinched bronze.
In his second visit, now as a senior athlete during the 2023 Absa Kip Keino Classic, Katzberg won silver with a throw of 76.38m, behind Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki (79.78m).
Hungarian Donát Varga (74.12m) nailed the bronze.
He would go on to Budapest, Hungary where he turned the tables and forced Nowicki to accept the silverto be crowned the world champion with a throw of 81.25m against 81.02m.
And last year, his huge throw in Nairobi set him on his way to winning the biggest medal of them all.
“I can't really ask for much more. I was in good shape coming here last season. I didn't expect to throw as far as I did, to hit a personal best, and perform at that level ,it was really awesome! It was the best start and end of a season for me,” said the two-time Canadian national champion affirmed.
And when the invite came to defend his Absa Kip Keino Classic title, it was a no-brainer for the Canadian star.
“I have to keep pushing, that’s why I had to come to Nairobi. I wanted to keep it going and keep throwing far. Being able to have a good throw here at Kip Keino was really great,” he added.
With a confidence boosting victory in Nairobi that has catapulted him to the summit of the world rankings, Katzberg believes he can now go on and enjoy another glorious season, with Japan firmly in his radar.
“I’ve got a couple more competitions in Europe, the rhythm is there, and hopefully I will continue the good results as I prepare to defend my world title in Tokyo.”
The milestone 20th edition of the biannual global track and field showpiece will return to Tokyo from September 13–21, in what will unusually be the climax of the season.
Besides defending his title in Tokyo, Katzberg is also looking forward to return to Nairobi for an Absa Kip Keino Classic three-peat in 2026.
Love affair
Part of his love affair with the event is fuelled by the energy generated by the electric atmosphere that has made it one of the most-favourite meet for international stars who have brought their talents to Nairobi for the past six years.
He is also aiming at sampling world famous tourist spots in the East African nation in deeper detail after being part of the visiting athletes who were accorded a tour of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage.
“All the fans get really excited for the competition. It's great to be here. I've been here four times and I still haven’t done a proper safari.
“But thankfully, at the reserve, I was able to see some giraffes, elephants, and other animals, so that was very cool. But I need to do a real safari one of these times,” he quipped.
Katzberg departed Kenya on Saturday night to prepare for the next stop in what he hopes will be a charge to the middle step of the podium in Japan.
And the omens are looking bright for the affable Hammer throw star.
-By Charity Wanja | Freelance Journalist
-Photos: Organisers &Peter Njoroge
