Canadian Olympic athlete opens up about being homeless before winning gold medal
Every athlete needs to overcome adversity before becoming an Olympic champion.
But not every athlete has to overcome homelessness.
Before winning gold for Canada at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Camryn Rogers did just that.
The world champion hammer thrower from Richmond, B.C., has opened up on the struggles she went through as a child.
At age 12-13, she didn’t have a place to call her own and was couch surfing and living with her single mom in their car. They did this for an entire year before the More Than A Roof Foundation set the family up in a new home.
Rogers is now stepping up to bring awareness to homelessness and the effect it has on families across the country.
“More Than a Roof gave us a second chance; it gave us a fighting chance. And when you realize you’ve been given that chance, you can’t let it go,” says Rogers.
The 26-year-old is now one of the country’s most impressive athletes. Rogers has competed in two Olympic Games, winning gold in the women’s hammer throw event last year in Paris. She defended her world title in Tokyo this past September at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
This was what won Camryn Rogers the Olympic gold medal 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/M0Hm09hmQW
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) August 6, 2024
With all the clout that being an Olympic champion brings, Rogers is now dedicated to giving back to the community. She is drawing on her personal experience with homelessness and is unafraid of giving a face to the issue.
“Camryn is a shining example of what our community can do when we have the right supports,” says Scott Campbell, executive director of More Than a Roof Foundation.
“We are so proud to be a part of Camryn’s incredible story. She and her mom are truly exceptional, but the challenges they faced, unfortunately, are way too common in our province and country.”
Rogers was introduced to track and field at her school in January 2012, at the age of 13. She fell in love with hammer throw, idolizing the athletes that competed at the London 2012 Olympics and, from there, a dream was born.
In 2016, just four years removed from living in her car, Rogers competed in her first U20 World Athletics Championships. She won gold at the same U20 competition two years later.
Rogers quickly rose through the ranks, leaving home to go to university in California, where she got a Master’s in Cultural Studies in Sport and Education. It was from there that her career exploded with the Olympic gold medal and a pair of world championship titles.
It’s one thing to realize your dreams; it’s a whole other challenge to continue fighting for them in the face of adversity.