Nanaimo's own Ethan Katzberg (L) and Parksville native Nicholas Bennett each brought Olympic gold back to the mid-Island this year, with the excitement and celebration of these great local athletes making them the NanaimoNewsNOW top story of 2024. (Submitted/The Canadian Press, Angela Burger)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

top story

Top Stories of 2024: Olympic medal wins

Dec 31, 2024 | 4:17 PM

NANAIMO — While Nanaimo had a lot to be proud of in 2024, nothing shined the global spotlight on the Harbour City more brightly than winning Olympic gold medals, the highest honour in international sports and the 2024 NanaimoNewsNOW top story of the year.

Ethan Katzberg
22-year-old former John Barsby Secondary student Ethan Katzberg threw for the top result in the Olympic qualification round at 79.93 metres on Aug. 2, to qualify for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in the men’s hammer throw event,

Katzberg entered the games with a personal best and season-leading throw of 84.38 metres, following a Canadian record-setting throw of 81.25 metres at the 2023 world championships in Budapest, Hungary.

On Aug. 2, Nanaimo’s Ethan Katzberg posted the top result in the hammer throw to qualify for the Olympic final round. Katzberg threw a distance of 79.93 metres. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP)

He outperformed everyone else by more than two metres in the medal qualifying rounds, with Canadian teammate Rowan Hamilton posting the next longest throw at 77.78 metres, securing Katzberg a shot at a medal.

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Then on Aug. 4, Katzberg outthrew his opponents in the medal round with a distance of 84.12 metres, making him the youngest gold medalist in the event’s history and the first to win gold in the event for Canada.

The world record for the hammer throw is 86.74 metres set back in 1986, with the Olympic record of 84.80 metres set in 1988.

Fresh off his historic gold medal win in the men’s hammer throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Katzberg toured around Paris during the games showing off his gold medal and representing Canada. (Submitted/Ethan Katzberg)

Katzberg, along with swimmer Summer McIntosh, was chosen as flag bearers during the Aug. 11 Olympic closing ceremony

Once the Olympics were over, speaking with NanaimoNewsNOW, Katzberg said the reaction to his achievement has been humbling.

“People have been painting pictures and doing drawings and stuff, it’s been incredible the people who have been getting behind what I’ve done in the sport…it feels like it’s just so much more than me throwing hammer, I hope I’m representing Canada well and I think that seeing people really look at me and my story and support me as a Canadian, has been truly incredible.”

In September, the City of Nanaimo held a special celebration of Katzberg’s achievement, with Mayor Leonard Krog proclaiming Sept. 26 as “Ethan Katzberg Day” during a ceremony at the Rotary Bowl.

The Nanaimo Track and Field Club officially renamed the hammer and shotput cage at the facility after Katzberg, with hundreds of local children in attendance showing their excitement for the hometown hero.

Katzberg was also recently named The Canadian Press male athlete of the year for 2024 and was one of five finalists for the Northern Star Award for Canada’s top athlete for 2024, which eventually went to Summer McIntosh.

Katzberg said his next major competition is next September at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, where he’ll look to defend his world championship.

Nicholas Bennett
Katzberg wasn’t the only mid-Island athlete to bring home Olympic hardware this year, as 20-year-old Parksville native Nicholas Bennett was named Team Canada for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games in a number of swimming events.

His second shot at Paralympic glory, Bennett was kept from the medal podium during the 2020 games in Toyko but won multiple world championships since then, including breaking the world record in the 200-metre individual medley during the qualification process for the 2024 Paralympic games.

It didn’t take long for Bennett to reach the podium for the first time, capturing the silver medal on Aug. 31 in the 200-metre freestyle.

Then on Sept. 2, Bennett won Canada’s first gold medal of the Paralympic Games finishing atop the podium in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke for his second medal in Paris.

Bennett won Canada’s first gold medal of the 2024 Paralympic Games on Sept.2, finishing atop the podium in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke for his second medal in Paris. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A few days later, Bennett won another gold medal in the 200-metre individual medley in a Paralympic record time of two minutes 6.05 seconds, two and a half seconds faster than the second place.

With the win, Bennett became the first Canadian man to win multiple Paralympic gold medals in a single meet since Benoit Huot’s five in Athens, Greece, in 2004.

On Nov. 1, a celebration for Bennett took place at the Ravensong Aquatic Centre where he got his start in the pool at the age of seven as a member of the Ravensong Breakers Aquatic Club in 2010.

After a quick lesson in the pool for dozens of excited young swimmers, Bennett relayed his thanks for supporting him to a large crowd, in between autograph sessions with excited fans.

“It’s an honour because I’ve been all over the world, all over the country the past couple of months, but Oceanside is my home and just being celebrated where it all started, it’s just an honour.”

Nicholas Bennett gold medal ceremony in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke SB14 Final at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on Sept. 2. (The Canadian Press, Angela Burger)

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