Over 200,000 Visit MOWA – Tokyo 25 – World Champion Camryn Rogers donates hammer glove – Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

Dear friends of MOWA, the MOWA Heritage Exhibition Tokyo 25 will close its doors at 10pm local time today having welcomed a record figure of over 200K visitors since it was opened by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Sunday 6 July.

Following Tuesday’s MOWA Donation Ceremony at the exhibition, many of the artefacts donated to the museum on that occasion have been displayed in the exhibition.

Grabbing much attention has been the Munich 1972 Olympic singlet of Japan’s Kenji Kimihara, a games in which the 1966 Boston Marathon winner and 1968 Olympic silver medallist, finished 5th. The singlet has been displayed opposite the tracksuit of Tokyo 1964 Olympic 10,000m champion Billy Mills, who attended the ceremony at which Kimihara made his donation to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

Photo: World Athletics – Heritage

The other artefact drawing the crowds has been Nicola Olyslagers‘ diary from 2022 which is beautifully illustrated and so deeply personal.

Her husband Rhys donated the diary, which includes notes as well as artwork and speaks from his wife’s heart and beliefs.

Camryn Rogers donates hammer glove 

Nicola, the two-time world indoor champion, is looking for her first global outdoor title after numerous silver and bronze performances. The final in Tokyo is this evening in Tokyo. 

Canadian Camryn Rogers who successfully defended her hammer title at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Monday (15), with a sensational Area record throw of 80.51m that moved her up to second on the world all-time list, has donated the glove which swung her to glory.

The Olympic champion, who had led the finalists out on to the infield, maintained the leading theme by opening her series with 78.09m, a throw that would have ultimately been enough to win the competition. But the beauty came in round two, the Canadian wriggled her fingers and sprinkled some maple magic before effortlessly breaking the 80-metre barrier and falling to the floor when she realised her feat

Rogers handed over the glove to MOWA at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Friday 19 September, and she will be invited to take part in a MOWA donation event in the future.

As our exhibition prepares to close in Tokyo we thank all our many visitors.

The next MOWA exhibition will be held at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 in Torun, Poland, for a month before the championships which take place from 20-22 March 2026.

Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

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