Star Search Begins in Hammer Throw
Defending Olympic champion Primož Kozmus travelled to London last week for the “London before London” event hosted by the Slovenian Embassy. Featured alongside Kozmus was Lord Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Olympic Games Organizing Committee. At the end of the evening the two took a minute to speak about the Diamond League hammer throw exclusion and Kozmus commented that “Lord Coe expressed his support and endeavors to bring [the hammer throw] back to this important track and field competition.”
The hammer throw has a long list of tasks it needs to do to increase its profile, and I write about this often. But the bottom line is that it needs put itself back in the headlines. And having a personable and likable face for the event helps tremendously. Kozmus has an infectious smile, fluent English, a quick mind, and his technique is a beauty to watch in the ring. He is a national hero at home after winning the first Olympic title in athletics for his country. Now that he has returned to the sport he is becoming a bigger name abroad too. He is the subject of an upcoming documentary series by IMG which features him alongside Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and the world’s biggest stars. And he has the drive to advocate for the event. All this matters since it puts the hammer throw in the news and lets Kozmus be taken seriously by Lord Coe. After all, Lord Coe is not just heading up the 2012 Olympics; he also serves as the Vice President of the IAAF.
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The nationals in Beaverton are going to be a big step. Get people up close so they can feel the event. Figure out some better netting or plex so throws can be photographed. Has anyone ever lost a hammer high out the back? A lot of footage these days is unpresentable stuff shot thru two layers of green netting.
What a great article. I did like the fact about Kiwbe being the first black man over 80 meters, this just shows the magnitude of what he is doing in the throwing world. It is so exciting to know that the hammer throw will be right after the 100m final’s in the Olympics; this is no doubt a great thing, rather than being the very first event days before people are around! I really do hope the Olympic Trials competition will be as large is predicted on the Nike campus.
Great job Martin who know our little conversation would make up your next blog posting. Also had a great time catching up with you and hearing about your recent life adventures. Side note I went back to Boundary Bay to pick up the Harvest Ale (was a big hit in our household)
This article got me really excited about the event. Great work Martin!
One of my biggest hopes is that I see someone win gold for USA in the hammer. I really do hope it’s Kibwe. He’s one of the first pros I ever saw throw. He seems like a really nice guy and went totally for hammer even after doing well in discus.