Episode 6-14 - February 21st 2023

Anastasia: Sports writers can overdo it when they shower phrases like "Historic" and "Ground breaking" on athletes.

But Richmond B.C's Camryn Rogers is all that.

The ten best hammer throws in NCAA history? All hers.

The First Canadian ever to make the Olympic finals in her event.

The first Canadian woman ever to win a throwing medal at the world athletics championships.

We could use up our whole intro, just listing her wins.

But that would mean less time getting to know the

Historic, Ground Breaking, Delightful, Camryn Rogers.

[music]

It's Player's Own Voice

I'm Anastasia Bucsis

Anastasia: My friend it's great to see your face. You are from Richmond, B.C. and I've got to admit I'm a huge fan of Richmond, B.C., because prior to Vancouver we basically lived there. Yeah. Best all you can eat sushi in the country by far, hands down.

Camryn Rogers: Totally agree. It's so good down there. It's the best.

Anastasia: Do you get back home a lot?

Camryn Rogers: Funnily enough, I'm actually heading back home this weekend. Kind of. Kind of funny. Crazy, right? So heading back home for the athletics awards banquet, which will be a tonne of fun, but usually I don't go home super duper often. I feel like at the beginning it used to be, I don't want to say easier. I don't know if it was easier, but I feel like I feel like I go home a little bit more and now it's more, you know, go home during the summer, like after my competition season is over. I went home over Christmas for the first time in three years.

Anastasia: Oh, that's so lovely.

Camryn Rogers: It was so fun.

Anastasia: Does Christmas fall in an integral part of your season, or can you actually have like a proper holiday? Because growing up, I could never have like, gravy. I'd always opt for the cranberry sauce and I would never have a cocktail or anything because it was right in the middle of competing.

Camryn Rogers: That's fair, though. That's super fair. It's like for us, it doesn't fall into our competition season for some other people, it might, since at least in the NCAA, like there are some schools that start their indoor seasons in December. I'm like, Oh my God. But we start late January. Like we really started this past weekend, which is the last weekend of January, which is perfect because I feel like and I was able to go home and spend some really good time with family and just kind of hang out, relax, recover a little bit. We got snowed in for a few days, too, so that was kind of like a forced rest sort of situation. Yeah.

Anastasia: Oh, my gosh. The rest of Canada, when it does snow in Vancouver, we all know about it. You folks don't like your snow there. Well, what was it like being a kid, though, If I'm good at math, which I'm not. You were 11 during the Vancouver Olympic Games. What was that like? I mean, was it just inspiration galore?

Camryn Rogers: Oh, my gosh. It was incredible. It was incredible. And the funny thing is, too, is like, I'm still that person. And I feel like so many people from Vancouver are like this, too. We don't let that go. We're like, Yeah, did you know we hosted in 2010? you know, like everywhere, like, you still have your mittens, I love my mittens. You still have your toque! Heck yes Love my toque!.

Anastasia: Oh, it was the best ever. I mean, I love Richmond. I really do. So first and foremost, I just had to give you props because that city will always have a piece of my heart. You might be the first person on this podcast, though, that has admitted you didn't really grow up or love sports when you were a kid. Was that time? Was that socioeconomic? Or were you just not really interested in them?

Camryn Rogers: I will go with the first two ones that you said: time and more socioeconomics. So growing up, it was just my mom and I growing up. My mom was a single parent and she was working all the time like two jobs. We lived like far away from where she worked and where I went to school. And with all the commuting and her working, it was just it was difficult when I was when I was a kid. Like we just we weren't able to make it work.

And then so she was a hairdresser first and foremost. She had a lot of friends and clients who were part of our local track and field club in Richmond. And I feel like for a while they were really trying to express to her how much they believed I would like track, and trying to get me to come out and start running and like join the track club and at the time it was kind of like, oh,I don't know if you can make that work. Like, I don't know if you'd would be able to do it. And at that time too, like never having done a sport, I was like, I don't I don't know if I'd make it. Like, can I even run a lap? Like, I don't even know.

But January 5th, 2012, Remember the date. I remember it forever. 15 minutes before the first practice of the New Year. It was one of those things where she just asked me like, Do you want to go? Like, would you want to go see and like, try and meet some people? And I said, You know what? That might actually be really fun. Like, maybe it might be good. We have the time right now. I might as well go and see and yeah.

And so we ended up going out and that was the day I met my first ever throws coach, met my future teammates and saw hammer throw for the first time ever. Had never heard of it before. I was like, this event is crazy. So that was kind of like the beginning of everything. And it's super funny to think about now that, you know, at 4:40 p.m., I was not even thinking about sports at all. And then by 4:45 I was out the door ready to start my first kind of session. Like it happened so quickly.

Anastasia: I love that. I laughed when you said, Can I even run a lap? Because that would be I feel like… I don't like running. But so what was it about Hammer throw then that you fell in love with? I mean, there's the concept of pushing yourself and setting goals, but like what of the actual motion did you have fun with?

Camryn Rogers: So it was so it was wild because like, hammer throw is just it's not the first thing that people think of when they think of track and field. And, you know, it's something that I'm really trying to advocate for, for more people knowing and learning about the throwing events and especially about hammer throw.

But at the time, like watching that first practice, watching people throw, I was like, this thing is looks insane. Like it looks like a murder weapon. I don't know how you could even like, I don't know what this thing is. And my first throws coach, his name is Richard Collier. He kind of pulled me aside and gave me, like, the lightest hammer that they had out there, which I think is the youth weight. It was like three kilograms. And he just kind of was like, Throw it, just go throw it. I said, I don't think I even… how? How? and he sort of showed me like the basics and so I did it rough, It was rough. And threw it about maybe like two metres maybe, and he kind of just like looked at me and just sort of said, you know, I think we can work with that.

And that was sort of how that started out. But I would say in those first few months, really learning about this whole new sport, this whole new event, it was just such a fun learning experience and especially being surrounded by other people too, who had been in it for a while, who kind of knew the ropes. And for me being like a 12 year old girl, like on the verge of like, you know, becoming a teenager, like you're still so young, you're starting to figure yourself out more. I think for me, at the very beginning, one thing I really loved about the sport is that it made me feel very powerful. Like it empowered me in a lot of ways. It gave me a lot of confidence and pushed me to sort of, as you said, start making goals and work towards, you know, like achieving them, but also just being more comfortable with who I am and what I like to do. And the whole journey was so fun.

Anastasia: So I've got to give some props to just the sound

[sound of hammer throwing]

It's like you need ASMR for hammer throw. I just love that sound. Also, I mean, that's so fascinating, because in a time when most girls are dropping out of sport, you picked up a sport. So was feeling powerful kind of what tipped it for you? or what also went into that equation, do you think?

Camryn Rogers: I think at that time, too, like it was feeling empowered by being in a sport and having this new community of people who, you know, were like minded, who were goal oriented, who had their own dreams that they wanted to pursue. And of course, it translates off the track too like they everyone I was surrounded by, they were very high performers in school. They were, you know, incredibly dedicated, very committed, very focussed. And those were the kinds of people that I wanted to surround myself more with.

And it was also, I think it was really fun too there were, one of my team-mates still at home. She's about a year older than me, but I got to see how she sort of handled everything. And there was another person who was also my age and you know, having, you know, friends who understood. And were kind of going through the same things that you were or were kind of a year ahead and watching how they handled all of the crazy things, you know, when it came to like, okay, how do they do recovery? How do they manage their time? How do they remain focused? how And it was just like taking notes the whole time, but also knowing that you had the support. Like literally standing right next to you in the line-up to throw in our case, it's like, like your support system is right there with you.

And it, it was just really great to meet all of these amazing people who I would never have met otherwise. And I could say that about. I think almost everyone I know at this point of my life, you know, I know them because of sport. I'm sitting here talking with you because of sport. And I think that's a really cool kind of connection to make. That sport is just this. It's like the foundation for how we're able to build so many relationships. And I think that's a very beautiful thing.

[music]

Anastasia: I want to go back to your mom, Cherie. You were one of the stars of the 2022 World Athletics championships, but in Canada, she was also a star. People fell in love with her. You mentioned she helped you get involved. What role does she play now in your athletic career?

Camryn Rogers: First and foremost, she is mom. Mom to her very core, like call or text me every night. You know, lock your doors before you go to sleep. You know, she is just yeah, mom through and through. But I think also at this point, it's you know, she's watched me grow more into the sport over the last 11 years. And she's been by my side, every step of the way. And now she gets to be more of like more like just a supporter as opposed to like a supporter and a planner and a meal prepper. And, you know, and I think she is I think it's more fun for her too she feels like she can take that step back since we're at this point now where it's like, okay, like I'm planning out how sort of all the competitions are going to go. And it's really fun too because she has learned so much about Hammer and so she'll be watching a meet and then afterwards she'll be like, "I really think you were pushing more on that throw" and it was my best throw the competition.

I'm like: moms know.

Correct.

Good.

Yes.

Anastasia: You really do have a special bond, though.I Mean you guys even have matching dragonfly tattoos.

Camryn Rogers: We do. So for her and I, they're just like a sign of strength and determination. And I think especially going through the hardships that we did when I was younger and her having to do everything on her own, it's sort of that reminder that no matter where you are in your life, like you can find that inner strength, you can find that extra push to keep going and even during times that are tough and that no matter what, sort of like we'll always have each other, too. Like I could look down and be like, Oh, there's Mom. And I got this tattoo two weeks before I went away for college. So she's like, Just don't forget me. I'm like, Of course, I never could.

Anastasia: Oh, that's so lovely. No, I was like, they either just hate mosquitoes or there's something really beautiful about it.

[music]

Your coach, Mo, though, your coach Mohammed, he's also been a rock. What is special about your relationship with your coach?

Camryn Rogers: I felt like from the moment that I came to Berkeley, it felt like a second home. And I think that really that really spoke to me, especially with how close the team was and how caring Coach Mo was. Like, One of the most important things that he told me on my visit that I've shared with most, if not all, of the recruits that we've had come through here as well. He told me, You know, when I look at you, I don't just see you as, you know what you do. Like you're not just a thrower. You're not just a number.

He says, I see you as somebody's child. You know, And because of that, I need to take care of you. And I was like, Oh, my gosh. Because you also hear so many stories of athletes who, you know, come into college and, you know, push and push and push and, you know, sometimes it ends well and sometimes it unfortunately doesn't. And I think there's so many different directions that your career can go, you know, and once you go to university. But that, to me, felt very comforting and very reassuring. You know, at the end of the day that I am a person and we see each other as equals, you know, and that we're in this together. And it was amazing. I know that was really nice for my mom to hear, too.

Anastasia: As someone who works now in the media, all of the sad, horrible, horrific stories that you hear with Safe sport issues, it's just lovely to hear such a pure bond with a great coach.

Camryn Rogers: yeah I had a great first year. I didn't make Nationals my first year. I didn't go to NCAA. I was the first person out by an inch, which in hammer throw is like nothing. And it's it's one of those things where looking back now, like for sure, like a motivator. But even now I'm making NCAAs. I still had World Juniors that year and I remember talking to Coach Mo and being I'm like, I'm nervous, but I'm excited and I just really want to do well, especially after I'm making nationals. And he's like, Oh, it's okay, look, we'll be there, we'll be there together.

And I was like, You still want to come? And he was like, Why wouldn't I? it was never even a question for him. After coaching me for a year, he paid his own way. He did everything, flew out to Finland and coached me and that.was the year I won. That was when I won World Juniors. And being able to share that moment with him, being there and like my mom being there, it felt so special.

Anastasia: Well, I'll just be blunt. I'm jealous. That sounds like a great college experience with a great coach. You do go to Berkeley. That's a really progressive campus. Like, are you just a young radical now? What's that like?

Camryn Rogers: I feel like it's so funny and in a lot of ways feel so similar to Vancouver, I think. And just being so I don't know, everyone here is just like, you can be yourself here and everyone is proud to be themselves here. And that was also a nice it was a nice community to come into of just feeling unafraid to discover who you are, because I feel like there are so many barriers that you can place on yourself to or are externally placed on you, really figuring out who you are as a person and like you're still so young in college, but it's still a very important time in your life to kind of figure that out and knowing that there are people by your side who will love you no matter what, will accept you, who will be proud of you no matter what.

It's nice to know that you have the freedom to do so. So that has been wonderful. Berkeley's great, of course, like the number one thing you hear on your visit. The number one thing that we tell to everyone on their visits is like. Like prepare yourself, like number one public university in the world. And then you come here. You're like, Oh, yeah, it's hard. But it's also, you really learn how to push yourself and to, I guess, be the best version of yourself, like as an athlete, as a student, because you have to be. And being in that position is for me, I think was extremely helpful and has for sure set me up to, you know, I feel like no matter what, no matter what the level of stresses in a situation I'm in, I'm like, Yeah, it's okay. I can handle this. It's good.

Anastasia: Oh, okay. We've talked a lot about your personal life. One more question. Environmental law. What spoke to you about that?

Camryn Rogers: I think with thinking about law. Initially, I really was interested in environmental law after hearing about a lot of human rights violations that come as the results of inadequate environmental conditions. And started looking at what other degrees were being offered here and decided to double major like within 48 hours.

So Boom just like that. And so I got a B.A. in political economy and a B.S. in society and environment. And then I'm in grad school now. I love it so much. Fantastic program. And I think for me, the change that I mentioned was over the last couple years will officially in May. Officially in May of 2022, I received my green card.

So I am a U.S. permanent resident now. I think that process spoke to me and especially seeing how much getting like going through the immigration process, how much it means to me and how much it can change the lives of people who, are kids, you know, of teenagers, of high schoolers who are coming in from other countries and want to start their lives. And I think. That to me was such an incredible experience that it sort of shifted my brain. Keeping that in mind keeping an open mind. But I it was such a cool process to go through. And my immigration lawyer was a twelve out of ten Queen.

Anastasia: You heard it here first on the POV podcast. Camryn Rogers might not be in environmental law or she might be going to immigration law. This is a breaking news story. I appreciate it.

[music]

Let's talk about sports. Okay. And you have done so much this year that I'm actually going to read this and I'm embarrassed any time to read. But I don't want to get one thing wrong and just stop me when I say something you want to talk about. Okay?

Best ten throws in the history of NCAA sports. All ten are yours. And it's actually 11, but ten sounds better.

Three time NCAA champion, first Canadian ever to make the Olympic finals. In your event,

youngest thrower at Tokyo 2020.

Your silver medal was the first medal ever won by a Canadian woman in any throwing event at the World Athletics Championships this past year in Eugene.

And then Commonwealth Games champion. And I got to see you under pressure because you almost faulted out and then you just you made it look easy when you needed to put the hammer down.

Camryn Rogers: I've never seen Coach more stressed. He was like gripping the handrails sitting in the stands. Like had his head was down, he was just like watching. I was like, I'm sorry,Mo.

Anastasia: But what was off or what was on on that day? Because from afar I'm like, She got it. I'm not supposed to admit that as media. But yeah, I mean, you struggled a bit and then you pulled it off.

[sound up from CBC sports- announcer describes Rogers award winning throw, crowd cheers]

Anastasia: Has that always been a part of your arsenal where you're like, I'm better when my back's up against the wall?

Camryn Rogers: I will say I'm someone who loves to compete under pressure, and I've always loved the stress and the energy of high level competitions. And I feel like it's been with coach Moe that I've been able to kind of figure out how my brain works and how my body works in those situations, like why? Why does this work for me? AndI feel like I've trained enough, I've like planned out enough with Coach Mo that I could be in that situation and still come back from it.

The throws actually felt very good. And so seeing that knowing kind of the areas that we need to work on for this year and have been working on for this year and for the season, you just learn from the experience and move forward. I remember being told when I was very young- as an athlete, you need to have short term memory, like long term goals, short term memory. You know, you have a good meet, great. What did we learn from it? We move forward. We had a not so great meet. OK What can we do better? We move forward, but we're still chasing those same goals that we set for ourselves.

And so I feel like coming off the Commonwealths as the last meet of the year, it felt like a good sort of like this went well. And now I already want to get back to training so I can work on these things for next season.

Anastasia: You have had such an amazing let's just call it 18 months. Let's go all the way back to Tokyo. Right. You've just had such a historic year and a half. How have you changed, do you think?

Camryn Rogers: Thank you. I feel like in the past, the last 18 months have been crazy. The moment to me where I really believed that I could go to the Olympics is when I won my first NCAA title in 2019. And that was the first time it felt like I actually figured out how to throw a hammer. I feel like I was executing in a way I hadn't before. Like our plan and what I'm supposed to do in the throw, like our throwing cues and really the first time believing that I could. Was the biggest change. And then after going to the Olympics, you know, being in the Olympic final, medalling at Worlds Commonwealths. I feel like as opposed to like, can I get there? It's more like, how far can I go? Where can we go from here?

And being able to ask that question is so exciting because it's always in the back of my mind. Like every training session, every lifting session, when I'm meal prepping, when I'm recovering, getting treatment done, looking at my hydration reminders on my phone, I guess it's in sort of like every moment of my day to day life. And it should be that is throwing and that's also just as a person. I think it's it's fun to think about. And it's weird, too. Like I feel like 18 months is kind of a long time, but also not a super long time.

Anastasia: I was going to say, too, because you're still so young. You're in a sport where you don't peak at 23. You could be at this level for a very, very long time. You are a globally marketed superstar now. A 12 out of ten! How do you market a sport that you know has hammer throwers and high jumpers and then sprinters? And obviously a lot of the marquee events are more highlighted in the sprint distances. So as someone that has the power you hold. Where do you hope the marketing goes for athletics?

Camryn Rogers: I think what's been incredible, especially over the last few years, is, you know, meeting people, even just at worlds, meeting people who say, like I had never really heard of the hammer throw. And then, you know, I watched the competition and now I want to learn all about it. And it's seeing sort of that transition. And for me, starting off again, when I started, I had never done a sport, I had never heard of a hammer throw. And now I feel like I'm in a position where I can more advocate for it.

And I think social media has played a really big part in that. And even if I only really like have and use Instagram like one of my friends/ team-mates/ classmates, we're in the exact same grad program. It's really funny. has crafted my social media when we first started in I think May of 2021, I had about 3400 followers. Maybe? We just surpassed 80 K like yesterday. And let's go!

Anastasia: You're going to be Camryn Rogers with a cooking show pretty quick here.

Camryn Rogers: Cooking and baking. Let's go.

Anastasia: It's so cool. Like just to see how you even interact with people and to know that you picked up a sport at the time that most girls drop out. You know, you are being one of those heroes, one of those shining lights to others. And I'm just grateful to call you Canadian because I think. You're pretty cool, kid.

laughter

Camryn Rogers: I'm proud to be Canadian. What I'll say too is that I had a lot of really incredible people to look up to when I was younger. I watched our Canadian Hammer throwing women compete in London in 2012, and that was sort of that first spark for me that said, hey, maybe one day I could be in the Olympics, too. And that was seven months after picking up a hammer for the first time. So bold statements, bold goals, but like. But it was also it was so cool because I think I had met one of them earlier that year or met them like the year afterwards. I was like. "Oh my God, you're Olympians and I love you." And I still fan girl. Directly to their faces, to everybody's faces, everyone I know. It's embarrassing.

It's also, for me, I think, like a sign of like, I appreciate you and the work that you're doing in this sport and what how much of an inspiration you've been for me, you know, from being a 12 year old starting off in hammer throw to being a 23, almost 24 year old who is sort of planning out their life with this career? Definitely I've been able to meet a lot of my heroes.

Anastasia: Sport is the gift that keeps on giving. And I'm just happy to hear that that's your relationship with it as well. I appreciate your time so much. Camryn, it has just been such a pleasure to watch your watch your skyrocketing success.

And, you know, through this conversation, I can say I am more proud of who you are as a human being than the fact you can throw a hammer really far. But that's pretty cool, too, buddy.

Camryn Rogers: Thank you so much for for speaking with me.

Anastasia: Peace!

[music]

Camryn Rogers connected with me from Beautiful Berkeley on San Francisco bay … we recorded from the CBC sports hub in Toronto.

Players Own Voice podcast is available on CBC Listen and everywhere else you get your podcasts

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