Katie Hart breaks NWT javelin record, reaches Canada Games final

Yellowknife athlete Katie Hart set a new Northwest Territories record as she qualified for the Canada Games javelin final with a throw of 37.83m.

The throw, her first in qualifying on Tuesday, eclipsed Gwen Young’s previous NWT senior women’s record of 33.36m set more than 30 years ago, in the summer of 1991.

The distance was enough to hand Hart 10th place out of 19 competitors from across Canada, advancing her to Friday’s 12-woman final.

“It was by far my best throw,” said Hart after Tuesday’s competition, calling her performance “very crazy” compared to her expectations.

“I was honestly expecting last place. To come 10th is unreal.”

Hart says she is now targeting a throw of at least 38m in Friday’s final.

“I’m very nervous but just hoping to get better,” she said.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the NWT women’s volleyball team defeated the Yukon 3-1 as the second and final week of competition at the 2022 Canada Games began in Ontario’s Niagara region.

The past week featured NWT athletes in male and female basketball, male beach volleyball, male soccer, swimming and tennis.

This week, only volleyball and track and field have NWT representation.