Ukrainian hammer thrower Kokhan takes home bronze at 2024 Olympics
Photo: Facebook / UkrainianAthletics
Mykhailo Kokhan, an athlete from Ukraine, won the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. His personal best throw was 79.39 meters.
Suspilne reports this.
Kokhan has earned a spot in the 2024 Olympics finals thanks to his performance in the qualification round. The Ukrainian hammer thrower secured his spot with ease, throwing 77.42 meters in his second attempt, surpassing the standard.
In the final, Kokhan competed against all the medalists of the previous Olympics in Tokyo – Poland's Wojciech Nowicki and Pawel Fajdek, Norway's Eivind Henriksen. Also among the competitors were the reigning world champion Ethan Katzberg from Canada and the bronze medalist of that tournament, Hungarian Bence Halász.
Photo: AP Photo / Matthias Schrader
The hammer throw final at the 2024 Olympics
- In the hammer throw finals, competitors were given six chances to make their best throw. After the initial three attempts, the top eight throwers moved on and were given three additional chances.
- In his initial try, Kokhan threw 78.54 meters, but his lead was overtaken by Canadian athlete Ethan Katzberg's final attempt of 84.12 meters.
- In the second try, Kokhan was able to improve the result. Despite the hammer getting caught in the barrier net, the Ukrainian's attempt ended up being better at 79.39 m.
- Based on the outcome of three tries, Kokhan placed third. He was outdone only by Hungarian athlete Bence Halász, who threw 79.37 meters. This means that the Ukrainian made his third and final attempt among the last three.
- In the end, Kokhan managed to hold onto the bronze medal, but he wasn't able to improve his performance and contend for the "silver." In his final attempt, he threw 79.24 meters.
Photo: AP / Bernat Armangue
Throwing the hammer. Men, final
- Ethan Katzberg (Canada) — 84.12 m
- Bence Halász(Hungary) — 79.97 m
- Mykhailo Kokhan (Ukraine) — 79.39 m
Mykhailo Kokhan is now the second Ukrainian hammer thrower in history to win an Olympic medal, following in the footsteps of Oleksandr Krykun, who achieved this feat in 1996.
But he became the first Ukrainian male track and field athlete to win an Olympic Games medal in eight years. Prior to that, in 2016, Bohdan Bondarenko had achieved success in the high jump event.
It should be noted that this is Ukraine's third medal at the 2024 Olympics in athletics. Before that, high jumpers Yaroslav Mahuchikh and Iryna Herashchenko won gold and bronze.
"I hope for gold": the story of canoeist Anastasiia Rybachok, Ukraine's representative at Paris Olympics
For reference:
23-year-old Mykhailo Kokhan is the world and European champion among young men in the hammer throw, the world record holder in the age group under 18, and now he is also the bronze medalist of the 2024 Olympic Games.
It was his second performance at the Olympic Games. In Tokyo-2020, he stopped one step away from a medal, taking fourth place.
His best result is 87.82m, which he set at the 2018 European Youth Championships in Gyor, Hungary.
Achievements of Ukraine at the 2024 Olympics
On July 26, the opening ceremony of the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games was held in the capital of France, Paris, officially kicking off the biggest sports event in the world. This year, for the first time, the celebrations were held not at the stadium, but on the water. The 2024 Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11.
- On July 29, saber fencer Olha Kharlan brought Ukraine the first medal of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris — she won the "bronze" match of the individual saber fencing tournament.
- On August 1, Serhii Kulish won silver in the rifle shooting from three positions at 50 m and brought Ukraine the second award of the 2024 Games.
- On August 2, boxer Oleksandr Khyzhniak achieved success by advancing to the semi-finals of the 2024 Olympics, which secured him a medal. He competed against Brazilian fighter Wanderley de Souza Pereira and ultimately won by unanimous decision of the judges in favor of the Ukrainian.
- On August 3, in the finals of the 2024 Olympics, Ukraine won a gold medal in saber fencing in the women's team. For the first time, the Ukrainian national anthem was played during the award ceremony of the winners at the 2024 Olympics.
- On August 4, Ukrainian track and field athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh became the Olympic high jump champion, taking first place in the final of the 2024 Olympic Games. Also, another Ukrainian jumper, Iryna Herashchenko, won a bronze award.
