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Olympic hammer throw a family tradition for siblings Jim and Heather Steacy who will compete at London Games

It's not uncommon to find brothers competing together in sports. Think of the Staals in hockey or Peyton and Eli Manning in football. There also have been sister acts like Serena and Venus Williams in tennis.

But few people would have predicted Heather Steacy following in her brother Jim's footsteps to the Olympics as a hammer thrower. But next week the siblings will be in the hunt for a medal at the London Games.

"I honestly don't know what to expect,'' Heather, 24, told a University of Lethbridge campus publication. "Everyone who has been to the Olympics that I've talked to says that they can't describe it. It really is something you have to experience for yourself and I'm excited about that."

For Jim, 28, London will be his second Games and he's thrilled to have his sister share the experience.

"That's going to be so much fun,'' he said "Having gone through it already, it's going to be cool to watch her do it too and see how much it throws her. It's a whole different animal than watching it on TV, a shocking experience."

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Growing up in Lethbridge, Alta., Jim was the first member of the family to take up the hammer. He had competed in basketball, volleyball and rugby in high school before catching the eye of local track coach Larry Steinke, who specializes in throwing events. Steinke suggested Jim try the hammer.

"I tried it and I just got hooked,'' Jim told The Globe and Mail.

He became Canada's top hammer thrower and at the 2008 Beijing Games became the first Canadian to compete in the Olympic hammer since 1924. He made the final placing 12th.

Another brother Sean, 26, gave up pole vault for the hammer. He made several national teams before a 2004 car accident hampered his throwing.

Heather was an unlikely candidate to become an Olympian. Growing up she was an awkward child who still enjoys playing the clarinet more than doing sport. She tried figure skating, soccer and swimming before Steinke pushed her to try the hammer.

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At first Heather said "I was awful'' but there was something about the challenge of mastering the event that intrigued her.

"You have to do thousands and thousands and thousands of throws before one sort of looks right,'' said Heather, a performance artist who is working on a music degree at Lethbridge. "You learn to be patient with it and kind of live with frustration.''

Last year Heather threw more than 70 metres, qualifying for the world championships. This spring she had a toss of 72.16 metres which booked her ticket to London.

Jim qualified for London by tossing 75 metres. His personal best is 79.13 metres.

The Olympic hammer throw has been dominated by Eastern Europeans but a wave of North Americans are attempting to break the stranglehold.

A third Canadian, Sultana Frizell of Perth, Ont., also qualified for London. She has thrown 75.04 metres and is ranked in the top 20 in the world. Three U.S. men have also thrown more than 75 metres this season.

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The Steacys are not the only brother and sister on the Canadian Olympic team. Sinead and Colin Russell qualified in swimming.

Jim and Heather still live in the family home. They train together and travel together. Their father Graham can't recall much sibling rivalry while they were growing up.

"There was very little squabbling," Graham said. "We just kind of kicked them out if they did that and told them to play in the backyard for an hour or two to cool off. In general there was very little of that.''

Heather said the three children remain close.

"We do get along pretty well,'' she said. "It's kind of nice that we all know what's going on with each other. We all kind of get it."

The men's hammer throw begins Friday. The women start Aug. 8.

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