View source for Chris Harmse

{{short description|South African hammer thrower}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{MedalTableTop|medals=
{{Medal|Sport  | Men's athletics}}
{{Medal|Country| {{RSA}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2010 Commonwealth Games|2010 New Delhi]]|[[Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze |[[1998 Commonwealth Games|1998 Kuala Lumpur]]|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze |[[2006 Commonwealth Games|2006 Melbourne]]|[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[All-Africa Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[1999 All-Africa Games|1999 Johannesburg]]|[[Athletics at the 1999 All-Africa Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2003 All-Africa Games|2003 Abuja]]|[[Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2007 All-Africa Games|2007 Algiers]]|[[Athletics at the 2007 All-Africa Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2011 All-Africa Games|2011 Maputo]]|[[Athletics at the 2011 All-Africa Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2015 All-Africa Games|2015 Brazzaville]]|[[Athletics at the 2015 All-Africa Games|Hammer throw]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[1998 African Championships in Athletics|1998 Dakar]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2002 African Championships in Athletics|2002 Radès]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2004 African Championships in Athletics|2004 Brazzaville]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2006 African Championships in Athletics|2006 Bambous]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2008 African Championships in Athletics|2008 Addis Ababa]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2010 African Championships in Athletics|2010 Nairobi]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2012 African Championships in Athletics|2012 Porto Novo]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2014 African Championships in Athletics|2014 Marrakech]]|Hammer throw}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2016 African Championships in Athletics|2016 Durban]]|Hammer throw}}
}}

'''Christiaan Harmse''' (born 31 May 1973) is a South African [[hammer throw]]er. He has broken the African record seven times, and holds the championship record for both the [[African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]] and [[All-Africa Games]].

He has been a dominant presence in African hammer throwing since his first [[African Championships in Athletics]] in [[1998 African Championships in Athletics|1998]] where he took gold with a [[List of African Championships in Athletics records|championship record]] throw. He then went on to claim four consecutive African titles between 2002 and 2008, improving his own record along the way. His performances at the [[All-Africa Games]] have been equally dominant – he won his first title at the [[Athletics at the 1999 All-Africa Games|1999 Games]] with a Games record and won twice more consecutively in [[Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games|2003]] and [[Athletics at the 2007 All-Africa Games|2007]], improving his record both times.

Although he won bronze medals at the [[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games|1998]] and [[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|2006 Commonwealth Games]], he has had considerably less success on the world stage – despite four appearances at the [[World Championships in Athletics]] in his career, he has never qualified for the final of the event. Furthermore, he has never represented [[South Africa at the Olympics]] as he does not compete on Sundays, due to his religious views. Harmse is only the second Olympian to withdraw from the games for religious reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?319|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070217062523/http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?319|archive-date = 17 February 2007|title = Articles Archives}}</ref>

His personal best throw is 80.63 metres, achieved in April 2005 in [[Durban]]. This is the former [[African records in athletics|African record]],<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records/gender=M/location=O/recordsType=AR/eventCatCode=/junior=N/area=AFR/index.html Area Outdoor Records – Men – Africa] – IAAF.org</ref> being beaten in 2014 by [[Mostafa Al-Gamel]] from Egypt.

On 22 April 2017, Harmse won his twenty-second consecutive national title at the [[South African Athletics Championships|South African Championships]] in [[Potchefstroom]] – a record unmatched by any athlete at the country's national championships. This has also been recorded as a World Record for most consecutive National Athletic Titles. He achieved this by besting Renaldo Frechou, whom himself gained the lead on his last throw with a distance of 70.30 meters. [[Tshepang Makhethe]] unfortunately threw a foul on his last. Chris stepped into the circle and threw a distance of 70.53 meters.

A 44-year-old Harmse extended his world record to 23 consecutive national titles with a throw of 70.62 m at the 2018 South African Championships, forcing Makhethe to settle for second place.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldathletics.org/news/report/south-african-championships-2018-clarence-mun|title=Munyai's 19.69 highlights record-breaking spree at South African Championships|publisher=[[World Athletics]]|date=17 March 2018|access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloemfonteincourant.co.za/harmse-gooi-weer-wereldrekord-in-hamergooi-los/|title=Harmse gooi weer "wêreldrekord" in hamergooi los|work=Bloemfontein Courant|date=23 March 2018|access-date=17 June 2022|language=af}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://potchefstroomherald.co.za/45792/athletics-central-north-west-athletes-shines-sa-senior-track-field-champs/|title=Athletics Central North West athletes shines at SA Senior Track and Field Champs|work=Potchefstroom Herald|first=Wouter|last=Pienaar|date=23 March 2018|access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref> His streak finally ended at the [[2019 South African Athletics Championships|2019 edition]], where Harmse took the silver medal with 71.70 m as Makhethe had a personal best throw of 72.25 m to win gold.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/sport/sa-athletics-ushers-in-new-track-and-field-champs-20190427|title=SA athletics ushers in new track and field champs|work=[[City Press (South Africa)|City Press]]|first=Daniel|last= Mothowagae|date=28 April 2019|access-date=17 June 2022}}</ref>

==International competitions==
{| {{AchievementTable}}
|-
!colspan="5"|Representing {{RSA}} 
|-
|rowspan=3|1998
|[[1998 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]] 
|[[Dakar]], Senegal
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|72.11 m (CR)
|-
|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia
|bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd
|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games – Men's hammer throw|72.83 m]]
|-
|[[1998 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]] 
|[[Johannesburg]], South Africa
|7th
|[[1998 IAAF World Cup results#Hammer throw|68.34 m]]<ref name=WC>Representing Africa</ref>
|-
|rowspan=3|1999
|[[Athletics at the 1999 Summer Universiade|Universiade]]
|[[Palma de Mallorca, Spain]]
|13th
|[[Athletics at the 1999 Summer Universiade – Men's hammer throw|70.18 m]]
|-
|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] 
|[[Seville, Spain]]
|30th (q)
|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|71.57 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 1999 All-Africa Games|All-Africa Games]]
|[[Johannesburg]], South Africa
|bgcolor=gold | 1st
|[[Athletics at the 1999 All-Africa Games – Men's hammer throw|74.75 m]] (CR)
|-
|2001
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Summer Universiade|Universiade]]
|Beijing, [[PR China|China]]
|5th
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Summer Universiade – Men's hammer throw|76.07 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2002
|[[2002 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]] 
|[[Radès]], Tunisia
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[2002 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|76.07 m]] (CR)
|-
|[[2002 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]] 
|[[Madrid, Spain]]
|4th
|[[2002 IAAF World Cup results#Hammer throw|77.16 m]]<ref name=WC/>
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
|[[Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games|All-Africa Games]]
|[[Abuja]], Nigeria
|bgcolor=gold | 1st
|[[Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games – Men's hammer throw|75.17 m]] (CR)
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games|Afro-Asian Games]]
|[[Hyderabad, India]]
|bgcolor=gold |1st
|[[Athletics at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games – Results#Hammer throw|75.67 m]]
|-
|2004
|[[2004 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]] 
|[[Brazzaville]], [[Congo-Brazzaville|Congo]]
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|[[2004 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|75.90 m]]
|-
|2005
|[[2005 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] 
|[[Helsinki, Finland]]
|13th (q)
|[[2005 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|74.37 m]]
|-
|rowspan=3|2006
|[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Melbourne]], Australia
|bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd
|[[Athletics at the 2006 Commonwealth Games – Men's hammer throw|73.81 m]]
|-
|[[2006 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]] 
|[[Bambous, Mauritius|Bambous]], Mauritius
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[2006 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|77.55 m]] (CR)
|-
|[[2006 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]]
|[[Athens, Greece]]
|7th
|[[2006 IAAF World Cup results#Hammer throw|73.94 m]]<ref name=WC/>
|-
|rowspan=2|2007
|[[Athletics at the 2007 All-Africa Games|All-Africa Games]] 
|[[Algiers]], Algeria
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[Athletics at the 2007 All-Africa Games – Men's hammer throw|76.73 m]] (CR)
|-
|[[2007 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] 
|[[Osaka]], Japan
|24th (q)
|[[2007 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|71.07 m]]
|-
|2008
|[[2008 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Addis Ababa, Ethiopia]]
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[2008 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|77.72 m]] (CR)
|-
|2009
|[[2009 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Berlin]], Germany
|—
|[[2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|NM]]
|-
|rowspan=3|2010
|[[2010 IAAF Continental Cup|Continental Cup]]
|[[Split, Croatia]]
|7th
|[[2010 IAAF Continental Cup results#Men's hammer throw|71.06 m]]<ref name=WC/>
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[New Delhi]], India
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|[[Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games – Men's hammer throw|73.15 m]]
|-
|[[2010 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Nairobi, Kenya]]
|bgcolor="silver" | 2nd
|[[2010 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|72.56 m]]
|-
|2011
|[[Athletics at the 2011 All-Africa Games|All-Africa Games]]
|[[Maputo]], Mozambique
|bgcolor="silver"  | 2nd
|[[Athletics at the 2011 All-Africa Games – Men's hammer throw|74.66 m]]
|-
|2012
|[[2012 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Porto Novo, Benin]]
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|[[2012 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|77.22 m]]
|-
|2013
|[[2013 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]] 
|[[Moscow, Russia]]
|24th (q)
|[[2013 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|71.42 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2014
|[[2014 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Marrakech, Morocco]]
|bgcolor="silver" | 2nd
|[[2014 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|73.90 m]]
|-
|[[2014 IAAF Continental Cup|Continental Cup]]
|[[Marrakech, Morocco]]
|7th
|[[2014 IAAF Continental Cup results#Men's hammer throw|71.71 m]]<ref name=WC/>
|-
|2015
|[[Athletics at the 2015 African Games|African Games]]
|[[Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo]]
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[Athletics at the 2015 African Games – Men's hammer throw|73.49 m]]
|-
|2016
|[[2016 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Durban, South Africa]]
|bgcolor="silver" | 2nd
|[[2016 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|67.67 m]]
|-
|2018
|[[2018 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|[[Asaba, Nigeria]]
|5th
|[[2018 African Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw|68.71 m]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}

{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Hammer Men}}
{{Footer All-Africa Champions Hammer Men}}
{{Footer African Champions men's hammer throw}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmse, Chris}}
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:South African male hammer throwers]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for South Africa]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists for South Africa]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:South African Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:African Championships in Athletics winners]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:21st-century South African sportsmen]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics]]