Greater Victoria hopefuls inspired by Team Canada鈥檚 success in the hammer throw at the Paris Olympics, will now have to look outside the region for somewhere to try their hand at the sport.

The hammer cage located at Saanich's Lambrick Park Secondary School was decommissioned Wednesday, Aug. 14 by School District 61 who deemed the structure 鈥渦nsafe鈥� and incapable of being upgraded.

"Safety is our highest priority and as such the structure is being removed," said Caroline Manders from the superintendent's department at School District 61 on the day of the demolition.

The cage, which was closed by the school district in early 2022, has previously been the training ground for the new Olympic hammer throw champion Ethan Katzberg, and Victoria鈥檚 Adam Keenan, who threw a season鈥檚 best of 74.45 metres in Paris, finishing 13th overall.

The removal has been criticized by Keenan, who prior to his departure for Paris, told Black Press Media that the long journey to train at an alternative cage in Duncan, as well as injury struggles, almost cost him his place at the competition.

The 30-year-old athlete says that the school district has been working with Athletics Victoria for two years to replace the structure and has at times demonstrated that the project is 鈥渘ot a priority鈥� for them.

鈥淢y Olympic career is done now,鈥� said Keenan, who announced his retirement after the competition. 鈥淏ut we've had two years to get that cage up so that I can have a place to train in Victoria. And it's really hard for me not to wonder what could have been.鈥�

鈥淲orking with the school district has proved extremely difficult. I鈥檝e noticed that their attention to detail is quite poor and they're not interested in doing things in a timely manner,鈥� he added.

At the Paris Games, Keenan witnessed Canadian sporting history, when teammate Katzberg won Canada鈥檚 first-ever gold medal in the hammer throw, followed quickly by Camryn Rogers doing the same in the women鈥檚 competition. 

鈥淚 was beaming with pride,鈥� Keenan said, adding that he has known both Katzberg and Rogers since they were young teenagers. 鈥淲atching them grow into not just the best throwers in the country, but the best throwers in the world, has filled me with nothing but pride鈥� and go B.C., because we're all from B.C.鈥�

Canada鈥檚 success in the hammer throw has sparked a rising interest in the sport, says Keenan, who was quizzed by curious sporting fans when he landed back in Canada.

鈥淭hose with children said that their kids were interested in getting involved in hammer throw and that just, I mean, it made my day to hear that,鈥� he said.

But with no current access to a training cage, Keenan fears what impact this will have on Greater Victoria children wanting to throw themselves into the sport.

鈥淭his isn't about elite athletes anymore,鈥� Keenan said. 鈥淭his is about developing physical literacy in our communities, and regardless of what anybody says, that matters. Having kids be able to access safe and fun exercise is crucial in any society.

鈥淢y life changed because of this, I got a full scholarship to the United States because of throwing, it changed the course of my life. That鈥檚 what I would love to see other people get to have. But it won't happen if we don't put a cage up.鈥�

The cage removal is also a personal blow for Keenan, as he and his family fundraised for the structure to be installed in 2010.

鈥淢y grandfather poured the cement for the circle and made the metal insert for it,鈥� Keenan said. 鈥淢y other grandfather paid for a big portion of the cage. So it's hard not to see it as my family's legacy to sport.鈥�

In a statement to the press, School District 61 said that they have been working with Athletics Victoria to install a 鈥渕odern and safe鈥� throwing cage at Oak Bay High, but 鈥渕issing parts鈥� have delayed the installation. A claim that Keenan denies. 

鈥淭here's no part missing,鈥� said Keenan about the cage purchased in March 2023, that was previously housed at the Kamloops national throwing centre. 鈥淥ne of the posts on the cages is bent, and this was communicated to them when we first bought the cage.鈥�

According to the president of Athletics Victoria, Sean Steele, a structural engineer鈥檚 report, retained by the school district but paid for by the athletics group, has indicated concerns about the cage and its wind-loading tolerances. But he adds that the report is unclear on how the cage falls short of the engineer鈥檚 standards.

鈥淲e will be seeking clarification on this to determine what remediation is needed,鈥� said Steele, who added that the cage鈥檚 original manufacturer has advised that it should be 鈥渞elatively easy鈥� to bring the cage back up to standard.

鈥淲e are hopeful about having a safer and proper throwing cage for use in the city, and appreciate the work of the school district in support of this as we continue to work steadily through their requirements for installation,鈥� said Steele.

鈥淩ight now we don鈥檛 have a timeline for installation but we are keen to have it done as quickly as possible and practical.鈥�

For Keenan, that can鈥檛 come soon enough, saying that post-retirement, he is putting his involvement in the sport on hold.

鈥淯nfortunately, the last two years have really soured my experience with training in Victoria,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 won't do anything in Victoria until there's a safe place for people to train.鈥�