Olympic newsletter: More hammer history, and who to watch Wednesday
CBC
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After going 112 years without an Olympic hammer throw medal, Canada suddenly rules the sport. Camryn Rogers won the women's event today in Paris, two days after Ethan Katzberg became the country's first-ever Olympic hammer throw champion with his dominant victory in the men's event.
Rogers tossed her four-kilogram implement 76.97 metres with her fifth of six attempts to knock off American Annette Echikunwoke (75.48) for the gold. The 25-year-old Canadian is now the Olympic and world champ after she and Katzberg captured Canada's first hammer throw world titles last summer.
The hammer double brings Canada to six gold medals in Paris — one away from tying the national record for a non-boycotted Summer Games.
Unfortunately, one of Canada's top medal contenders got flattened as the men's basketball team fell 82-73 to France in the quarterfinals.
WATCH | CBC's Meg Roberts tells you what to watch on Day 12:
Feeding off the partisan Parisian crowd, the host team raced out to a big lead that grew to 19 points as 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanya and company stifled the smaller Canadians. The NBA rookie of the year grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and snagged three steals with his octopus-like arms, while Euro-leaguers Guerschon Yabusele and Isaia Cordinier combined for 42 points.
Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-best 27 points, but he didn't get enough help — especially from fellow NBA star Jamal Murray. After plodding through the group stage on a minutes restriction, Murray managed just seven points (off the bench again) on an atrocious 3-for-13 shooting and never got to the free-throw line. Feisty but overmatched forward Dillon Brooks had only two points and shot 1-for-9. RJ Barrett, a bright spot throughout the tournament, scored 16. France "punched us in the mouth," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
This is a crushing upset for the Canadians, who were favoured by eight points and were considered a real threat to win the country's first Olympic basketball medal since 1936. Instead, Canada's first men's basketball appearance in a quarter century ended in the same round where Steve Nash's squad bowed out in 2000. Here's a post-mortem on the Canadian team.
WATCH | France knocks Canada out of men's basketball quarters:
A couple more tough Canadian results to share: diver Caeli McKay finished one spot off the Olympic podium for the third time in her career, while young 400m runner Christopher Morales Williams did not qualify for his final after finishing last in his semifinal heat coming off a gruelling collegiate season.
On the bright side, men's 200m sprinters Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney joined Andre De Grasse in Wednesday's semifinals while young women's 400m hurdler Savannah Sutherland reached Thursday's final. Canoe doubles gold-medal contenders Katie Vincent and Sloan Mackenzie advanced to their semifinals along with several other Canadian paddlers.
Looking ahead, let's start our Day 12 viewing guide on the track, where a bunch of Canadian stars are in action. Plus, Canada tries to crack the podium in artistic swimming, the country's top beach volleyball duo shoots for the medal rounds and the women's golf tournament tees off.
WATCH l Camryn Rogers throws for 76.97m to win hammer throw gold:
