While much of the focus tonight at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility was on the sprint straightaway, it was the Lion field eventers who produced the most notable performances, led by Tim Nedow’s sixth straight Canadian title in the shot put.
Nedow simply dominated the field, with all six throws surpassing the 20 metre barrier, and exceeding his competition by nearly two metres. With a best mark of 20.94 metres, the Brockville native’s performance was the second best outdoor performance of his life following his Commonwealth Games medal performance earlier this year. Nedow’s brother, Thomas was also a finalist in the shot put competition, producing an outdoor best performance of 16.06 metres.
Hammer thrower Sultana Frizell also captured a medal Friday evening with a bronze. The Perth native hurled her four kilogram ball and chain out to a distance of 61.84 metres in the fifth round. Tonight’s event was the first competition for Frizell since her fourth place finish at April’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. In that time, her focus has shifted to her studies, beginning full time massage therapy training in May.
On the long jump runway, the story was the same a year later for Divya Biswal, narrowly looking in from outside the podium. While Biswal is better known for her prowess in the triple jump, she finished fourth in the long jump for the second straight season, just six centimetres off the podium tonight. She will have another chance for a medal Saturday evening in the triple jump.
In the women’s 100m final, Farah Jacques was seventh overall after a 11.91 second effort in the chilly 18 degree air. Jacques will be back in action Saturday night, running semi-finals of the 100m hurdles at 5:20pm.
Also on the track, Seb Saville was the only Lion to qualify for the 800m final, making it in on time with a 1:51.38 clocking. Tops among the women was Charlotte Gardner, who crossed the line in 2:06.59 to finish eleventh overall.
Action resumes Saturday morning at 10am with 400 metre hurdle semi’s on the track and U20 long jump and javelin in the field.
To purchase tickets, https://www.showclix.com/event/canadian-track-field-championships-2018
Live Results: http://liveresults.athletics.ca/Live_Results/2018/Championships/
Live Stream: athleticscanada.tv
