Camryn Rogers wins women's hammer throw for 2nd Kuortane Games title in 3 years
DeBues-Stafford continues strong running; Warner throws season best in London, Ont.
Camryn Rogers continued her unbeaten week and winning season on Saturday.
The Canadian hammer thrower captured the women's event in Finland, defeating her friends and Finnish teammates Krista Tervo and Silja Kosonen at the 86th Kuortane Games.
Rogers, the reigning world and Olympic champion, threw 76.45 metres at Kuortane Central Sports Field to edge Tervo (76.08) for her fourth victory in five competitions this outdoor season. Kosonen was third (72.90).
Rogers fell 12 centimetres shy of matching her stadium record set two years ago in a victory over Kosonen at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze track and field meet.
The 26-year-old Rogers fouled on her first of six attempts Sunday but rebounded with her best throw on her next try. She also didn't record a distance on her fifth attempt.
On Tuesday, the Richmond, B.C., athlete prevailed despite three fouls with a 74.59m top throw at the 68th Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, about 315 kilometres south of Kuortane, where she beat Kosonen (second) and Tervo (ninth).
Rogers will return to Canada to prepare for the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League event on July 5 in Eugene, Ore.
She has a best throw of 78.14 this season and 78.62 personal best.
Rogers won an Olympic gold medal last Aug. 6 in Paris after securing her first world championship title in 2023 after silver the previous year.
WATCH | Rogers takes women's hammer throw at 68th Paavo Nurmi Games:
DeBues-Stafford 2nd in 1,500m in France
Meanwhile, middle-distance runner continues to impress in her comeback from injury.
The Toronto native placed second in the women's 1,500 metres on Sunday in four minutes 3.64 seconds at the Troyes International Athletics Meeting in Aube, France.
The 29-year-old won Tuesday in Turku (4:02) and on May 25 (4:03.81) in Belgium.
"That will be the real test," DeBues-Stafford told CBC Sports earlier in the week of racing twice in five days. "I am aiming to double in the 1,500 and 5,000 [at the World Athletics Championships in September] so being able to race back-to-back in a tight schedule is obviously crucial."
DeBues-Stafford is planning a return to the track July 4 in the 1,500 at the Stanislas Nancy competition in Tomblaine, France.
On June 7, DeBues-Stafford met the 14:50 world standard in the 5,000, going 14:47.83 at the FAST5000 competition in Maisons-Laffitte, France. She has only recently switched to training for the 1,500 and is confident there will be further progress.
"At this point in the year," DeBues-Stafford said, "it is about keeping the overall training volume at a good level while continuing to chip away at the 1,500 pace work and making sure I am in peak shape for [Sept. 13-21 worlds in] Tokyo. The last think you want with a late [world] championship is burnout running your best time three months before it begins."
DeBues-Stafford entered this season having spent much of the past three years dealing with stress fractures and troubles with her sacroiliac (SI) joint, which link the pelvis and lower spine.
Warner impresses on home soil
At the Bob Vigars Classic on Sunday, Damian Warner threw a season-best 15.18 metres for third in the men's shot put open class before a home crowd in London, Ont.
It was his first competition since June 1 at the Hypo Meeting in Götzis, Austria, where the eight-time champion fell short of a decathlon title repeat, placing sixth. He threw 14.41 in shot put to open the two-day event.
Warner's previous best this season in shot put was a 14.64 effort on April 10 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif.
Warner will attempt to win his first gold medal at the World Athletics Championships, scheduled for Sept. 13-21 in Tokyo.
The 35-year-old has earned four world medals, including 2023 silver in Budapest, Hungary. Warner's first world championship podium was bronze in 2013 in Moskva, Russia, followed by 2015 silver (Beijing) and 2019 bronze (Doha, Qatar).
WATCH | Warner eyeing elusive world championship title in Tokyo:
For more information on athletics events streaming live on CBC Sports this season, click here to see the full broadcast schedule.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
