A starting gun signaled the beginning of a lifelong connection to track and field, one rooted in family tradition.
"There's hammer in our DNA, I guess. We all threw hammer," Hammar said.
Hammar comes from a family of track and field athletes known for the throwing events. He and his three children all went on to compete in college, continuing a legacy that eventually led Hammar into coaching the next generation of athletes.
"How precious it was, it really became a family thing, my wife and all of us traveling to these things," he said.
More than three decades into his coaching career, Hammar now splits his time working with throwers at Golden Valley and Atwater. The two schools were part of the first annual Black and Blue Hammar Invitational, a track meet dedicated to honoring his impact on the sport.
"My name's on the medals, they're saying sweet words about me," Hammar said.
The recognition, he added, has been deeply meaningful.
While coaching has defined much of his public life, it is not the pursuit he has done the longest. Music has been a constant since his teens.
"I've been playing guitar for money since I was 17," Hammar said.
Forty-five years later, his band, Mike Hammar and the Nails, is playing to sold-out crowds in Merced as part of its tour. The group blends original music with select covers.
Balancing coaching and music, Hammar said, is about finding the right tension - much like tuning a guitar.
"There's an old thing about guitar strings," he said. "It can be like stress, way too tight, or too loose, where you're a little bored. So tuning that guitar, it's really easy to smile all day when you've got something you like, you look forward to it," he said.
The guitar on this year's medal and playing the national anthem before the track meet combine both of Mike's passions into one legacy.
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