With a trip to a global final on the line today for Maeliss Trapeau and Sharelle Samuel, both athletes fell short of advancing despite registering near personal best performances.
Maeliss Trapeau, first on the track in the 800m semi-final, crossed the line for the second best performance of her life – two minutes 5.35 seconds. The University of Ottawa student was methodical in performance, sitting just off the leaders through 400 metres, hitting the bell in 61 seconds.
Trapeau made the crucial push to 600 metres, finding herself in third place as they went through in 1:33. However, in the final straight, the field showed their class, pulling away with the winner crossing in 2:03.19. Trapeau finished 14th overall in the competition.
Running blind out in lane eight, Sharelle Samuel kept herself in the race from the gun before finishing in near personal best time of 53.68 seconds. The Harvard bound Samuel got out to a quick start, creating distance between herself and Stella Wonruku of Uganda to her inside and held that gap through the line. However, with world number one, Hima Das of India leading the charge down the homestretch, Samuel would fall back to fifth in the heat. She would end up finishing 12th overall.
While her individual events have concluded, it is expected that Samuel will figure prominently in Canada’s 4×400 metre relay entry later in the competition. She will be joined in the relay pool by club mate Lauren Gale, who will contest the 200 metre heats beginning Friday. Canada is the defending bronze medalist in the event and will be looking to equal or better the result with veterans Ashlan Best and Xarhia Santiago returning to the team.
Also competing Friday is Canadian Junior record holder in the 100 metre hurdles, Keira Christie-Galloway. The University of Ottawa student will be looking to improve upon her semi-final appearance from two years ago in Bydgoscz, Poland.
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