Aussies have called for Canada’s Ethan Katzberg to take a DNA test after being blown away by his striking, but very familiar, appearance at the Olympic Games. Katzberg, 22, won gold in the men’s hammer throw in Paris on Sunday to further cement his dominance of the discipline after becoming the youngest ever world champion last year.
The Canadian cuts a distinctive figure with his moustache and long curly hair, and asserted himself with a first throw of 84.12 metres, and none of his rivals could respond. But all Aussies are asking the same thing after Katzberg’s triumph, with many convinced he boasts Australian DNA.
‘Nah I want a DNA test, this man is clearly Australian’ one person said on X. Another said: ‘Canadians are Northern Hemisphere Australians. Request denied.’
A third fan quipped: ‘They’re just appropriating the Aussie male look.’Others likened Katzberg’s look to Neighbours legend Toadfish Rebecchi, while one fan joked: ‘DNA will prove him a German porn actor from 1978.’ Reflecting on his victory, the 22-year-old said: ‘I don’t think I expected it, but I had the preparation in mind to get a good round on the first throw, and to throw 84 metres felt really good.’
Hungary’s Bence Halasz won silver with 79.97 and Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan won bronze with 79.39. The three hammer throwers jokingly took turns to put questions to each other in the press conference after their win, as journalists in the Stade de France thronged the men’s 100-metre medalist instead.
A podium of Katzberg, Halasz, who was celebrating his 27th birthday on Sunday, and 23-year-old Kokhan, represented a changing of the guard as defending Olympic champion, Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki, 35, finished seventh and his teammate, Tokyo bronze medalist Pawel Fajdek, was fifth, taking a bow after his final throw.
