The last time we saw shot putter Tim Nedow in action he had heaved a 16 pound ball 20.85 metres enroute to a ninth place finish at last year’s World Championships in Doha. Nedow was part of the greatest shot put competition in history and the level of competition is only expected to rise this summer with the Olympic Games set for Tokyo in August.
The seven time Canadian shot put champion was back in the ring this past weekend at the Meyo Invite in South Bend, Indiana where he picked up exactly where he finished off last season. Hurling the shot out to a distance of 20.90 metres, Nedow easily claimed victory on the University of Notre Dame campus. The mark is the best season opener of Nedow’s career and currently ranks him 15th in the world.
To guarantee his spot in Tokyo, Nedow will need to hit the World Athletics standard of 21.10 metres, but for now he was happy with Saturday’s result. “As much as I want 21.10, I can’t be unhappy with this opener. It’s still one of my best tosses of all-time,” he said after the competition.
Back in Canada at the Windsor Team Challenge, a number of Lions athletes were busy setting personal best’s and putting themselves in a good position for a run at a USports medal next month. Among the first to get on the PB train was Leewinchel Jean who set two PB’s enroute to a bronze medal in the 60 metre hurdles. A first year student at the University of Windsor, Jean topped qualifying in 8.25 seconds before shaving his time down to 8.24 seconds in the final. The result moves him to ninth in club history.
In the women’s 600 metres, the trio of Maeliss Trapeau, Sydney Smith and Marie-Eve Dahms all improved their positions in the USports rankings on Sunday as they finished first, third and fifth respectively. Trapeau’s winning time of 1:32.40 fell short her lifetime best set last year, but moves her to fourth in the national university rankings. Smith, who is having the best season of her life, added to her personal best 500 metre effort from the previous week by crossing the line in 1:33.29 to move into seventh nationally. Lastly, Dahms has found her way into the top 12 nationally with her 1:34.14 clocking.
Rounding out the USports Top 12 performances from Sunday was Madison Clarke in the 1000 metres. The sixth year student’s time of two minutes and 52.72 seconds was good enough for a fourth place finish beyond Sydney Pattison of Wilfred Laurier. Clarke’s performance moves her to eighth nationally in the 1000. She is also currently ranked sixth at 1500 metres.
The Lions crew returns to action this Saturday as we host the Ravens Last Chance Meet at the Louis-Riel Dome. Action gets underway at 9:30 am with the U16 sections. The open sections follow at noon.