She throws. She scores. Sultana Frizell is a rising star on the hammer-throwing scene, recently setting a new Canadian record of 71.64m on April 18, 2009 in Walnut, Ca. The mark improves her own national record of 70.55 set in 2008.
Recently, Frizell placed third in a strong international field at the Grand Prix in Qatar, Doha with a throw of 69.86. Currently she is ranked ninth in the world, and is aiming for the World Athletics Championships in Berlin this summer.
Growing up in Perth, Ont., Frizell was also a figure skater, discus, javelin and shot put thrower before she decided to take up the hammer. In 2002, she was competing in the shot put, discus and javelin at a Legion Track Meet. Renowned Russian throws coach Anatoly Bondarchuk suggested that she try hammer throwing. She excelled at the event and soon earned her way to the University of Georgia’s track and field team.
Hammer throwing is now her event. “Pretty soon after I started hammer throwing, I knew it was the event for me… I loved it!” she laughs. “I think the hammer throw explains a little of my personality: controlled chaos!”
She wishes more people would share her enthusiasm. “The majority of people I meet not in the track world don’t know what hammer throw is. This is a shame because I think it is the best sport in track and field,” she says, adding with a laugh, “My personal opinion.”
Hammer throw is not a glamour event compared to figure skating. The women’s event made its debut at the Olympics in 2000, having only gained international sanctioning in 1998. The hammer throw is an athletic event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland games. British Columbia is the only province where it is a high school sport.
Asked to describe the event, Frizell says, “The athlete spins quickly around in circles, pushing the hammer out in front. You have to know where it is in the spatial orbit, catch it and then push it just at the right moment into the triangular qualifying zone.”
At 23, she competed in the Beijing Olympics and threw 65.44m, placing 17th. Other career highlights include a seventh-place finish at the 2007 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 2007 Canadian Track and Field Championships. She also won a bronze medal in the shot put at the 2005 national championships.
Frizell now lives and trains in Kamloops at the National Training Centre and is coached by Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk. He competed for the Soviet Union and was the 1972 Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the hammer throw. He had coached 13 Olympians before he was hired by the Kamloops Track and Field club in 2005.
Article by: by Christine Blanchette
