Hamilton Named To Canadian Olympic Team

Rowan Hamilton follows Jack Merchant (1924) as the only two Cal men to earn Olympic berths in the men’s hammer.

T&F7/2/2024 6:22 PM | By: Cal Athletics

NCAA Champ Becomes Cal’s Second Male Hammer Thrower To Reach Olympics

Six days after finishing second in the men’s hammer throw at the Bell Canadian Track & Field Trials, California track & field alumnus Rowan Hamilton has been officially named to Canada’s Olympic team.
 
Hamilton was already the first Cal men’s hammer thrower since Jack Merchant to win a conference title (1919) and an NCAA title (1922); now, he will similarly follow Merchant as the second Golden Bear man to ever throw the hammer at the Olympic Games this summer – exactly 100 years later in the same city. He is also the first man from Cal to represent Canada since Atlee Mahorn (200m) and Dave Steen (decathlon) in 1988 and is the program’s second Canadian to qualify for this year’s Olympics, joining fellow hammer specialist Camryn Rogers as the first male-female duo in Cal history to compete in the same event for the same country.
 

After joining the Bears as a three-time NAIA hammer champion for the 2024 NCAA season, Hamilton improved his personal best to 77.18m (253-2) – the No. 8 collegiate performance in history – and set two meet records on his way to a fourth national title. He was named the West Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), as well as the Pac-12 Men’s Field Athlete of the Year.
 
Hamilton’s Canadian teammates in the men’s hammer throw are reigning World Champion Ethan Katzberg and Adam Keenan, who finished first and third, respectively, at the Bell Canadian Trials.
 
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