Dartford Hammer Thrower Kai Barham has sights set on 2028 Olympics

KentOnline / KMTV

18-year old Hammer Thrower Kai Barham has recently landed a scholarship with the University of California after sweeping the youth rankings. We speak with him on Invicta Sport.

Transcript

00:00 Dartford's very own Kai Barham has set his sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

00:07 And the pathway to getting there has just been made all that clearer, after landing

00:11 a top scholarship to the University of Berkeley in California, where he'll be training under

00:16 some of the world's greatest hammer throwers.

00:19 But what is it about the sport that makes it so unique?

00:22 Well the equipment needed to take part is relatively simple.

00:25 A heavy metal ball attached to a steel wire and a handle, with a large enough space to

00:30 throw it.

00:31 But the technique is much more sophisticated.

00:35 Athletes step into a circular throwing area, unleash a spinning dance with a build of momentum

00:41 before releasing it towards the field.

00:44 Scoring in hammer throw is all about the distance.

00:47 Throws are measured from the centre of the circle to the spot where the hammer lands.

00:52 But stepping out of bounds, losing form or faltering will result in a disqualification.

00:59 Dominating the youth rankings since taking up the sport, it's safe to say that Kai Barham

01:04 has made a name for himself in the hammer throwing scene.

01:07 But before heading to the States, and with a personal best of 70.58 metres, Barham aims

01:12 to smash the British record at the Under 20 World Championships in Peru.

01:17 Then it's all sights on making the Team GB squad for Los Angeles 2028.

01:23 So the next time you see a hammer thrower in action, why not take the time to appreciate

01:27 the artistry, the strength and the dedication that defines this Olympic sport.

01:35 Well joining me in the studio now is Kai.

01:37 Kai, thank you so much for joining us and welcome to Invicta Sport as well.

01:41 Now looking at those pictures, that looks just extraordinary.

01:43 But how did it all start for you?

01:45 I know you were 12 years old when you took up the sport.

01:48 Why hammer throwing?

01:49 Well it was my school teachers that sort of got me into it.

01:52 So we have quite a strong athletics team at my school and they sort of put me in the charts

01:57 for throwing because I was good at rugby.

01:59 So they thought well, could be good at athletics.

02:01 Yeah I just found that I loved it immediately and I ended up being quite talented at it

02:06 and I thought yeah, I'll give it a go.

02:08 Had you seen much of it before when you first picked it up?

02:11 Because I think most people, they think hammer throwing, they think the Olympics, that's

02:13 kind of every four years it comes around but obviously not for you now.

02:17 It's kind of turned into your whole life.

02:18 Had you seen it before?

02:19 Only a little bit.

02:20 So I'd seen some of the boys in the year above do it and I've been like, oh wow, I like them,

02:24 I think they're cool.

02:25 Maybe I'll give it a go and try and copy them.

02:27 I mean it looks like such a display of strength as you're doing it but it's a lot of technique

02:32 as well that goes into hammer throwing.

02:34 Yeah, big time, big time.

02:35 So I spend probably 60% of my week working on my technique and then about 40% on my strength.

02:40 So it's completely dominated by the technical and finer aspects but when you watch it, it's

02:46 like, well that's all strength but it's much finer than that.

02:49 Absolutely.

02:50 I mean we saw some of the photos on the screen there and the pictures of you in action.

02:55 You've got to absolutely ignore my ignorance here but surely there's a moment where, I

03:01 mean how do you find, what can you learn next in a way?

03:05 Because it looks to someone like me who's never kind of taken an interest really in

03:10 hammer throwing until today, until I've looked at your pictures.

03:13 Where's the sort of room for progression once you've kind of mastered your style of it?

03:17 Yeah, so there's so many fine details and it's one of the most important events for

03:21 your coach.

03:22 So in other events you can kind of get away with doing it yourself but for me, I've had,

03:27 my former coach was an Olympian and the new coach has taken me over at Berkeley.

03:31 Our coach is two world champions.

03:33 So it's sort of, they work out all the technical stuff and I just sort of listen and do what

03:37 I'm told.

03:38 It makes it easy for me, hard for them.

03:40 Yeah, and you mentioned going to the US as well, I mean a big move for you.

03:44 But talk to me about the last few years then.

03:45 I mean when did it kind of become a reality that you thought, oh I could go to America

03:50 and I could go to university and take this on?

03:53 I think it was sort of as I was coming out of COVID, I sort of won my first national

03:57 titles and started talking to some of the senior athletes that had come back from America

04:02 and they all sort of gave it really good reviews.

04:04 They were saying this is the way to go.

04:06 You get better funding.

04:08 People start paying a bit more attention to athletics over there than they do here.

04:12 And it's just more of a growth opportunity than anything I'd have here.

04:14 So it was sort of just out of COVID that I was getting pushed that way.

04:18 And you're in your University of California hoodie there as well.

04:22 Why did you choose Berkeley?

04:24 For me it was a mix of the coach and the university itself.

04:28 Obviously the academics are incredible there, but I also just got on super well with the

04:32 coach.

04:33 He's probably the best in the world and it's just an opportunity I couldn't really turn

04:36 down.

04:37 And as you go, I mean, I think it's quite easy to say, oh, you're going off to do your

04:41 hammock throwing, but you are going to be studying as well at university.

04:43 It's all part of the scholarship.

04:45 You've chosen science and science and English.

04:47 Is that right?

04:48 Yeah.

04:49 Yeah.

04:50 I'm going to try and do two degrees while I'm out there.

04:51 A mix of physics and English or economics and English.

04:53 I'm still working that out.

04:54 But yeah, it should be a nice challenge to go with the sport.

04:57 That's it.

04:58 I mean, it's quite a balance there because next year, I mean, this is before you actually

05:02 start there, if I'm right.

05:03 You've got the under 20 world championships.

05:06 But whilst you're there as well, you'll be playing for Berkeley and representing them.

05:11 So I mean, quite the challenge ahead of you.

05:12 Yeah, it will be a bit of a juggling act.

05:16 And the way it lines up is the main world season for European championships, world championships,

05:21 that sort of thing.

05:22 It happens after the year finishes academically.

05:25 But there's a big portion of the year where I'm competing for Berkeley and doing my degree

05:30 at the same time.

05:31 So yeah, it's a finely balanced thing.

05:34 And I have to work with the coaches, the academic advisors to sort out my schedule to get in

05:38 the best place for those big American competitions and then the big world competitions afterwards.

05:43 We've got the photo on the screen here of you clearly having a bit of a celebration,

05:47 having signed your scholarship to make the move.

05:51 What's been the reaction from your friends and family?

05:53 Because it is a big move moving all the way to America.

05:56 It's been kind of very surreal, not just for me, but also the people around me.

06:00 My life has changed so much over the last few months, let alone the few years that I've

06:04 been doing this.

06:05 And I knew it was coming down the line, but it's kind of arrived much quicker than I expected,

06:10 all this, the real side of moving out to America.

06:14 And my family have been very, very supportive and all my friends have been a little bit

06:17 daunted, I guess, by me moving the other side of the world.

06:21 We're jealous as well.

06:22 I mean, like I said, you're trading the skies and what we've got here for the Californian

06:26 sun.

06:27 But OK, before we finish, I want to kind of get into your mind a bit.

06:30 When you're stepping up to the circle there, you've got your hammer with you.

06:35 What's going through the mind in those few moments?

06:37 It depends.

06:38 If I'm having a good day, it's very fluid.

06:40 It's more sort of I'm trusting myself.

06:44 I'm going in with the mindset that I know what to do.

06:46 I can do this.

06:48 But other days it's like I'm going through all the different technical points I need

06:50 to focus on if it's not quite as fluid.

06:54 And it's sort of about finding my rhythm and trying to work on small details when it's

06:59 not going so well.

07:00 And I mean, when you're there, I mean, I tend to say this a lot when I'm speaking to athletes,

07:04 when you have a kind of physical object with you, it's just you and your hammer.

07:09 Talk to me about the hammer we've got here.

07:10 This is, remind me, this is six kilos.

07:14 And this is the weight you use as a junior, if I'm correct?

07:17 Yeah, it's the one I use for my under 20 competitions.

07:20 So European Champs last year was under 20.

07:22 So I was using this.

07:23 And all my national titles have gone with this.

07:26 So yeah, I've got some good memories for that.

07:28 And I mean, you must have quite a relationship with your hammer as well.

07:31 I mean, when you're there, it's just you and the hammer.

07:33 I mean, how many have you got then at home?

07:35 How many hammers?

07:36 Well, so overall, probably about 10, 15.

07:39 They're all different weights, different length wires.

07:43 And I use them mainly in training to work on different aspects.

07:45 So use a heavy one to get stronger, use a light one to get faster and that sort of thing.

07:49 That's exciting stuff.

07:51 Best of luck with the future.

07:52 Thank you so much for coming here.

07:54 And I'm sure we'll follow all your journey as you go to the US as well.

07:58 And of course, best of luck next year in Peru as well in the under 20 World Championships.

08:01 Thank you very much.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended