Athletics-Katzberg takes shock hammer gold for Canada
By Mitch Phillips
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Canadian Ethan Katzberg took a stunning World Championship hammer gold on Sunday with a massive national record throw of 81.25 metres in the fifth round.
The 21-year-old had smashed his personal best by more than two metres in qualifying and looked as if he could not believe he had triumphed in the final.
Poland's Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki took silver with 81.02, with Hungary's Bence Halasz a crowd-pleasing bronze in 80.82.
Pole Pawel Fajdek, seeking a sixth successive world title to match the record of pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, finished fourth.
"I felt a little nerves coming in," Katzberg admitted. "But with the first throw, I gained some confidence and I was very satisfied with how I was progressing during the competition. I did not want to get too excited so I tried to keep myself calm.
"To throw a PB and become a world champion, that is absolutely a great feeling. It has not hit me yet."
For a while it looked as if Halasz, the 2019 bronze medallist, would win an emotional first-ever world gold for the host country on Hungary's National Day.
He was leading at the halfway point after a massive personal best of 80.82, only for Nowicki to edge past him by a centimetre.
"The main thing in all of this is that I could make so many people happy," Halasz said.
"I cannot describe my feelings about how many children have been coming to me asking for photos or just cheering for me. This medal just makes everything more beautiful."
Nowicki then hit the front with 81.02, only for Katzberg to find the second-longest throw of the year in the fifth round, which proved enough for gold.
"I am glad for even this silver medal because the competition had a very high level," Nowicki said.
"There was a big fight until the very end and it was very exciting. I take silver - another medal in my collection and for the Polish team and I am very grateful that I am still able to fight for the medals on the top level.
"It is true that we are not getting younger and the new blood is coming."
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
