Hi folks! TrackTown USA Throws Ambassador Kara Winger here. I’m so excited to be returning to the Pre Classic this year and experience the world’s best meet with the world’s best fans.

This repeat women’s hammer throw field from the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix gets one Canadian Duck addition in Jillian Weir, and boasts three distinct World Champions and another multiple-World medalist, 6 Olympians from 4 countries (more on that later), and the current world leader.

Brooke Andersen returns to the site of not only her 2022 World Gold (she earned that on the Hayward infield), but the arena outside the oval where she turned in a commanding performance at the 2023 USATF National Championship. She started her season strong and has only proven her fitness with consistency: The world leader currently at 79.92m, she also tossed over 77m twice last weekend in LA to take the victory. Her PB of 80.17m, set at the beginning of 2023, ranks her third all-time. Brooke hasn’t had it easy: A Tokyo Olympic finalist, she has also been on multiple World teams from which she didn’t take home a medal, and she always comes back. The consistency in her approach to the throw is as steady as she has been this season, and that’s often where greatness grows.

Just ahead of Brooke on the all-time list is American Record holder DeAnna Price, who experienced a slew of physical setbacks after her second-straight Olympic 8th place finish in Tokyo in 2021 (she was also 8th in Rio in 2016). The Doha 2019 World Champion - first U.S. hammer thrower ever to achieve the feat - made a big comeback statement in Budapest in 2023, grabbing third. In a stellar career, including the AR of 80.31m (set at Hayward Field btw), her battle back from brokenness for Budapest Bronze is beasty. That extra grit could be very dangerous for the world of hammer this year.

The third and defending World Champion competing at Pre this weekend is Camryn Rogers of Canada, a 2023 graduate of Cal Berkeley, where Mohammad Sataara has been creating an absolute powerhouse of a throws team for years. I strongly believe that those vibes started with Camryn. She was fifth in Tokyo as a college sophomore. She earned Silver at Oregon 2022, becoming the first Canadian woman to ever medal in a field event, and upgraded that to Gold in Budapest in 2023. This young phenom’s PB of 78.62m is fifth all-time, and the Canadian Record.

Our fourth global medalist of this 8-woman field is Janee’ Kassanavoid, whose Eugene Bronze and Budapest Silver give me a clear picture of her goals for the season. Her 2021 Olympic Trials finish was one of the most heartbreaking in all of the field events (5 centimeters separated her from an Olympic berth), and watching her focus, execution, and authentic realization of her dreams in the seasons since has truly inspired me. She started the 2024 season stronger than ever, and knows how to build at the exact right time.

Annette Echikunwoke, Eugene 2022 World finalist for the USA and Tokyo Olympian for Nigeria, is one of my favorite stories in the throws. Her PB of 75.49m from 2021 is the African Record and Nigerian Record. After Tokyo, she began the process of changing affiliations to the U.S., and mere days before the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships, she got the call that she could compete for a spot on the U.S. team. So she did. And she made one of the hardest field event teams to make in all of the throws. In all of the world. She did that at Hayward Field. And she’s coming back this weekend.

How old do you think Silja Kosonen was at her first Olympic Games? In an event that you typically get better at as time goes on (like most of the throws)? I bet you’ve guessed wrong. This Finnish talent is merely 21 right now. When she was just two spots out of the final in Tokyo, she was 18. She got 7th in Eugene in 2022 and 5th in Budapest last year. She continues to compete in both U23 and senior global events, giving people the business at both. She is absolutely on her way with a PB of 74.19m, and a streak of great performances when it matters.

Jillian Weir of Canada graduated from the University of Oregon in 2015, and comes by her talent naturally, with a discus thrower Dad who also won Commonwealth Games in the hammer. Earning fifth at her alma mater’s World Championship in 2022, the Tokyo Olympian continues to put herself in positions for success, making another World showing in Budapest in 2023, and getting out to 71.13m so far this season (her PB of 73.12m came at 2022 Canadian Championships).

Janeah Stewart won an NCAA Championship for Ole Miss at Hayward in 2018, and owns a significant PB of 75.49m from 2019. Going without a measurable improvement for years as a thrower is so tough, but when you stick it out like Janeah has, magic can happen at any time, and we all know that Pre Classic has that on call. She is out to 70.93m so far this season.

The World Top List currently? Top four are Brooke, DeAnna, Camryn, and Janee’. The USATF LA Grand Prix results? Top four were Brooke, DeAnna, Camryn, and Janee’. Who will shake that order up? Show up and find out! Every athlete on this list has significant personal victories at this venue, and the meet record of 75.98m from 2010 is not just in serious jeopardy, but I consider it gone already. See you outside the oval for the first throwing event of the day at Pre Classic!

Pre Classic Women’s Hammer Throw Preview, by Kara Winger

Pre Classic Women’s Discus Throw Preview, by Kara Winger

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