Hammer is Determined; Paralympics Here He Comes Again

NEWS AROUND CAMPUS Hammer Is Determined: Paralympics Here He Comes Again

Dr. Chris Hammer has a couple new motivators. One fuels him with a positive determination and the other he simply wants to defeat. The D&E head triathlon coach and competitive athlete represented the United States on the Paralympic Triathlon Team this summer and earned a fourth-place finish in the PTS5 Sport Class, just 6 seconds behind the bronze medal winner. Triathletes covered a 750m swim, non-drafting 20km bike and 5km run at Tokyo’s Odaiba Marine Park, the same venue as the Olympic triathlon competitions. “This was the least nervous I’ve ever been before a race, the most fun I’ve ever had during a race and most heartbroken after it was over,” Hammer said. “It’s funny how those could co-exist.” Hammer made up for his disappointment in November by capturing a gold medal and his first world title in the 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships Abu Dhabi. Athletes competed in a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run through Yas Marina and part of the Yas Marina Circuit, a Formula One motorsports track. Hammer sprinted through the finish line in 58 minutes, 34 seconds, just 2 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Now, he has his eye on the Paralympics in Paris, just three years away. He competed in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. “After Rio I was thinking of hanging it up because the next one was four years out, but I stuck with it,” Hammer said. “Now, because of COVID, it’s a shorter time. I want to continue to do this as long as I can compete at a high level.” Born with one hand due to a congenital condition, Hammer never let his impairment impact his ability to compete in athletics while growing up and in college. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Hammer joined the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Team, where he was able to qualify for the London 2012 Paralympic Games in the 1,500-meters and the marathon. Competing on the USA Paratriathlon National Team, Hammer was a bronze medalist at the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in 2014, 2017 and 2019. He also has 23 ITU Paratriathlon international event podium finishes in 31 total races, including 10 first-place finishes. In 2013, he decided to try out a new sport: triathlon. Despite not having a training background in swimming or biking, two of the three elements of a triathlon race, he felt his long-distance running success would translate. “In a sport like this, there are two types of athletes,” Hammer explained. “Some like to train, some like to race. I like both. I enjoy pushing myself to see if I can improve and to see how well I can compete against others. It’s just a thing I love to do.” After the Tokyo race, Hammer has a few more reasons driving his determination. Before he had been back in Elkins a full 24 hours, the College welcomed him home with a parade through the Historic Wees District where he and his family live. The College community joined with neighbors, friends and public officials in cheering for the Paralympian as he rode through the streets on a D&E golf cart. “It’s been neat because the previous times I’ve competed it’s just been my family and friends supporting me,” Hammer said. “Having the support of the College, the team and the Elkins community, makes me want to keep going because I feel pride in representing this community. When you represent more than yourself, you want to hold yourself to a higher standard. It is such a cliché, but it does change things up.” Then there are the infamous 6 seconds. “When I train for Paris, there won’t be a day that goes by that I won’t think about 6 seconds,” Hammer said. “I don’t want to be too acrimonious over it, but that is going to add to my motivation to give my best effort.” His family in his home state of Michigan and his wife are behind him all the way. His dad hopes to take the whole family to Paris for the event. Before any of that happens, though, his wife, Amy, who serves as the assistant coach for the D&E triathlon team, is ready again to let her husband pursue his goal. “She’s more on board than anybody. I think it means as much to her as it does to me,” Hammer said. “When you train for something like this, you have to spend so much time doing your own thing and your family has to make so many sacrifices. She’s a collegiate All-American runner, so she understands this sort of thing. She stepped in and coached the D&E team for the first three weeks of the season. If it weren’t for her, I don’t think I could have left.” Seems there’s nothing that can hold Hammer back and even if there were, he might just find a way around it. “It’s just a thing I love to do and as long as I have that desire, I don’t want to stop if I can make it work with my other responsibilities,” he said.

Davis & Elkins College head triathlon coach Dr. Chris Hammer, center, his wife, Amy, and daughters are surrounded by D&E staff in front of a large yard sign in the Wees Historic District in Elkins. Dr. Chris Hammer gives it his all in the 5km run – the final component of the Tokyo Paralympics triathlon competition.

Dr. Chris Hammer races through the non-drafting 20km cycling leg of Tokyo Paralympics triathlon competition.

It was a great day for a parade in honor of D&E head triathlon coach Dr. Chris Hammer who came in fourth in the Tokyo Paralympics triathlon competition. A Davis & Elkins College golf cart leaves campus to continue along the parade route through the Wees Historic District of Elkins.