Camryn Rogers enjoys all the pressure and emotions that come with aiming far and high on the biggest stages.
"Feel the fear and do it anyway," is a quote the Richmond, B.C., native rolls with and will continue to do so at the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
Rogers enters the worlds — which run from Saturday to Aug. 27 — as the reigning silver medallist in the women's hammer throw and having the second-longest throw of the season at 78.62 metres.
The 24-year-old not only has her sights set on gold, but also the 80-metre mark.
"I've always loved pressure and stress and anxiety and all of the intense emotions that come with competing at a high level," Rogers said. "For me, at least, it adds that extra level of tension that allows me to kind of dig deeper and push to reach those new heights or further distances.
"Knowing that there have only ever been three women to hit the 80-metre mark in the history of women's hammer throw, it, for me at least, proves that not only is it (possible), but there is a way to do it.
"I think the way that coach Mo (Saatara) and I have been preparing all of this season, definitely I think makes it look very promising that that big mark is right around the corner. And what better place to hit it than at the world championships."
The pressure Rogers places on herself — she says "trying to relax has never worked for me" — is what fuels her fire.
"I think I always put a lot of pressure on myself but for the best possible reason," she said. "I always want to see how far I can go in this sport.
"When I first started throwing, … it gave me a lot of the big push I needed, I feel like to gain that confidence, that belief in myself, the ability to focus more, to be disciplined, and always just wanting to be better, wanting to hit that next level, wanting to see how far I can really take this.
"If I were to look back at where I was when I first started, I don't think I ever really thought I would even be here. So it's exciting to know that I'm hopefully making my 12-year-old self proud, that little girl that started hammer throwing and never looked back."
Rogers said a conversation she had earlier in the year opened her eyes to what throwing has meant to her in that context. After mentioning when she started throwing, she was told: "That's so interesting, you started sport at a time when usually young girls are dropping out."
"And I had never really thought of it in that way and I think that's because at that point, I didn't realize how much I needed this sport and everything that it gave me," Rogers said.
"I didn't realize that I was looking for community that I belonged in, I didn't realize that I was trying to really figure out more of who I was as a person and what I wanted in life and finding reasons to believe in myself and believe that I could be better and shoot to be better every single day of my life."
Rogers is coming off back-to-back meet-record performances on home soil, at the Harry Jerome Classic (76.12) and Canadian track and field championships (77.43), both in Langley, B.C., in July.
With her worlds debut in 2022 past her now, the three-time national champion and Canadian record holder feels better prepared heading into Budapest, Hungary.
"I think at this point in time, I'm feeling so, so good leading up to worlds," Rogers said. "I feel like I'm in an even a better place than I was last year. My throws are going fantastic, we're heading into our peak.
"Mentally I'm in a really good place as well … there's a lot that my coach and I have worked on this past year and a lot of lessons to learn just from my first world championship experience last year and taking all that into account in preparing for the best possible result this year, I think we're in a really good place."
Rogers's personal- and season-best throw of 78.62 put her fifth all time in the record books, with Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk holding the top spot at 82.98 since August 2016.
Asked about the possibility of getting the world record, Rogers — a three-time NCAA champion and record holder who recently wrapped up her career at the University of California-Berkeley — acknowledged what that achievement would mean.
"The world record is insanely far," she said. "I think we're taking everything step by step but if the time comes, then that would be absolutely incredible."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2023.
Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press
