Olympic hammer throw champion Ethan Katzberg wins CP male athlete of the year

A history-making medal helped sway voters choosing who would win The Canadian Press male athlete of the award in 2024.

Hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg earned the honour for his golden performance at the Paris Olympics. He is Canada's first Olympic champion in the event and earned the country's first hammer throw medal since 1912.

Katzberg earned 17 of the 56 votes cast by sports editors, producers and reporters across Canada to narrowly beat Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the award last year and picked up 14 votes, and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid who had 13 votes.

"That's incredible," Katzberg said of the feat. "Those are two highly achieving athletes who have done incredibly well in their respective sports. That's really cool."

WATCH l Katzberg wins historic gold medal at Paris Olympics:

Canada's Ethan Katzberg becomes youngest hammer throw Olympic gold medallist

The Canadian Press began recognizing male and female athletes of the year in 1932.

Other previous male winners include hockey players Sidney Crosby (2007, 2009, 2010) and Carey Price (2015), basketball player Steve Nash (2002, 2005, 2006), and fellow track and field athletes Donovan Bailey (1996), Andre De Grasse (2016) and Damian Warner (2021).

"There are not many hammer throwers in the world. It's an almost-obsolete sport, but Katzberg showed what years of lonely dedication can do," Phil King of The Globe and Mail wrote. "He was an inspiration to athletes around the globe to keep trying, no matter how obscure your sport is."

Getting to the top of the podium was an all-encompassing endeavour this year, Katzberg said.

"It was 150 per cent dedication to Paris, right? There wasn't a lot of focus on anything else," he