Fraenkisch-Crumbach Recap

I’m not sure whether to call it complacency or having perspective, but I threw horribly this weekend and am fine with that. I could search for reasons why I didn’t throw far and I could find the small victories that came from this meet; there are plenty of each. But, I’d rather not spend my time doing that. This is all that matters: I was in great shape two weeks ago, yet I only threw 62.53m on Sunday. Five meters of distance doesn’t just, like they say in the Shawshank Redemption, up and vanish like a fart in the wind. The distance is still in me: I just need the technique to bring it back out. I was talking with my friend Sergej Litvinov Jr. after the meet and he told me that “Everyone must have both good and bad meets every season.” I agree. But unlike him, I’m not able to win a meet on an off day and still throw over 77 meters.

The crowd in Fränkisch-Crumbach.

Part of the reason I am so content with the meet is because I had a blast over the weekend. As I mentioned last week, the Sparkassen Hammerwurf-Meeting in Fränkisch-Crumbach, Germany is perhaps the best hammer throw meet in the world. Not only did I get beerwurst as a prize, but the meet once again brought together everything a great competition needs for its eight edition: sunny 80ºF weather, over 500 to 1000 knowledgeable and screaming fans, and a world class field with six World Championship finalists. More than anything, the organizing committee worked hard to gather over 70 sponsors, set up the fan friendly venue, and make sure that the meet ran smoothly for the 117 competing hammer throwers. The result was a day of pure hammer throwing in a picturesque small German village. It was a sunny holiday weekend that the locals could have spent doing any number of things, but they all chose to support hammer throwing at its finest.

After I finished throwing, I also had no time to pity myself. I joined the crowed, grabbed a beer and a bratwurst, sat down, and watched Sergej dominate the rest of the field. He weas followed by the women’s competition, where my roommate Sultana Frizell launched a new Canadian record of 72.24 meters to take the lead on her first attempt. While she ended up getting third behind the 2007 world champion and another top German, she beat the Olympic bronze medalist and produced an outstanding result despite traveling to Korea and back just a few days before arriving in Germany.

With Sergej Litvinov Jr. after the competition.

Hammer meets are also exciting since they always turn into a reunion for me. After polishing off my beer, I got to catch up with some old friends. Sergej and I commiserated about how it is both necessary and unfortunate for us to train without a coach during the competitive season (his father/coach lives in Russia while he competes for Germany and lives in Frankfurt during the summer). I got to catch up with Christoph Sahner and his athlete Joana Hahn, who let me train with them when I stayed in Germany last summer. I saw Sultana for likely the last time this summer and witnessed her best throw ever. And, most importantly, I got to spend the weekend with my sister and brother-in-law who live nearby. Even though I was thoroughly trounced at the ESPN Jeopardy board game, I had fun seeing their new house and catching up with both of them.

Below are some video highlights from the weekend. I only subject you to one of my throws in the video and I won’t even begin to list the numerous problems you can see in my technique.