Kathrin Klaas

Today we interview German hammer star Kathrin Klaas (@keehii)!

Kathrin’s career highlights have consisted of a 4th place finish at a home world championships as well as coming 5th in an Olympics as well as making numerous other finals.

Q. How did you get involved in hammer throwing?

A. My first coach introduced hammer throwing to me when I was eleven years old. He was writing a thesis about the development of women’s hammer throw back then. My main events at that point were hurdles and kids combined events, a pentathlon. I was able to use the feeling for speed and rhythm I had gained from training for running hurdles in the hammer throw and its rather complicated technique.

Q. You are notable in speaking out about the discrimination against hammer throw in the diamond league. How much has this exclusion cost you in your career?
A. Our exclusion of the main track and field competition series is a danger to our event. It pushes the hammer throw into a corner where its rarely recognized as part of the track and field family. I often feel like the odd kid when talking about my event. Developing youngsters and promoting elite athletes has become very difficult. I don’t want to look at the figures too closely but roughly guessed I can say that I probably missed out on about 100,000€

Q. What is one tip you have for aspiring hammer throwers?

A. Hammers hit cages and wires break, you may fall over, sometimes you stumble over your own feet. Sometimes all you get out are three X, sometimes all is wrong except there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

We thank you very much for your time Kathrin,  you can follow Kathrin’s journey at her instagram: @keehii