Over the Rockies to the lower mainland we go. Since Monday, Lions athletes have been making their way to the city Langley, a suburb on the far outskirts of Vancoucver to fight for national medals. It’s a first for many of these athletes, as the U20 contingent have been left without a championship since 2019. While a select number of athletes had the pleasure of competing at last year’s Olympic Trials, this is also the first taste of national level competition for many since before the pandemic.
In total, 37Lions athletes will be fighting for a spot on the podium this weekend at McLeod Athletic Park, where action gets going today. Among the favourites are Lauren Gale and Josh Cassidy. Both athletes have already been named to Team Canada for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. It is anticipated Gale will also be named to the World Championship team, having bettered the 400 metre standard of 51.35 last month at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Gale, will also be among the medal favourites in the 200 metres, as she enters the competition with a season’s best and Club record of 22.82 seconds.
Cassidy, a veteran of two Paralympic Games, will be looking to add to his large collection of national medals as he contests both the T54 800 and 1500 metres this week. Bouncing back from the Notwill Grand Prix in May where he failed to complete a race, Cassidy will be looking to find the form that saw him capture a trio of gold medals (800m/1500m/5000m) three years ago in Montreal.
Looking to find his way back on the national podium will be Saj Alhaddad in the 400 metres hurdles. The 30-year old has been a fixture in the national final for the past decade and enters the competition with the third fastest seed time. With already four Canadian medals to his name, look for Alhaddad to challenge his season’s best of 51.92 seconds set just two weeks ago at the Ontario Championships, where he ran to a silver medal.
A triple medalist at the Ontario Championships, Tommy Nedow, will drop the hammer throw and focus his efforts on the shot put and discus this weekend in Langley. With a seed performance of 52.35 metres this season, Nedow is in a tight race to reclaim the bronze he won in 2019. In the shot put, the Southeastern Louisiana graduate will find himself in a tough battle for a medal in the shot put. Tommy enters the competition ranked 4th, but seeds three through six are all within 71 centimetres of each other.
With Lions record holder Melissa Bishop-Nriagu not competing this season as she is pregnant with her second child, the women’s 800 metre gold is wide open. Hoping to find herself in the final mix is Sydney Smith. The University of Ottawa graduate student is coming off a new personal best of 2:05.35 set at the recent Ontario Championships and will be looking to secure herself a spot in the final where anything can happen.
The men’s 800 metres will see Stephen Evans go after his first national medal. The former USports champion has found himself in multiple national finals in the past, but is still looking to make the breakthrough to that podium appearance. Evans appears primed for the task having set personal bests both indoors and out this season, was victorious in both Montreal and Guelph stops on the National Track Tour, the later included Evans’ first sub 1:48 run.
A strong contingent of women will lead the U20 Lions into Langley. Elizabeth Vroom is the top seed entering the 3000 metre steeplechase following her Ontario Championship victory. Vroom, whose mark of 10:58.23 is nearly 15 seconds faster than the next entry, will be joined in the final by teammate Louise Stonham, who could also find herself on the podium.
Training partners Amelia Van Brabant and Maddie Seaby will continue their season’s long duel at 3000 metres. The pair will enter the competition with the fourth and fifth fastest time respectively – an impressive feat for the two 17 year olds. .
Finally, sprinter Katie Manor will look to turn a pair of provincial medals into national ones. . Manor produced a silver (100m) and gold (200m) and appears ready to elevate her running even further. Entering with personal bests of 11.94 seconds (100m) and 24.75 seconds (200m), the University of Ottawa student is ranked 6th and 9th respectively.
Competition Schedule (All times in PST)
Thursday, June 23
09h30 U20 Heptathlon 100H Audrey Goddard
09h35 Open Heptathlon 100H Brooklyn McCormick
09h55 Open Women 400m Qualifying Helena Jovic/Doyin Ogunremi
10h55 U20 Men 100m Qualifying Seiyf Gebara/Luca Nicoletti
11h00 U20 Heptathlon High Jump Audrey Goddard
11h00 Open Heptathlon High Jump Brooklyn McCormick
11h10 Open Women 100m Qualifying Coralie Ostertag
11h25 Open Men 100m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
12h15 U20 Women 200m Qualifying Emma Martin
12h25 Open Women 200m Qualifying Doyin Ogunremi/Coralie Ostertag
12h45 Open Men 200m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
14h30 U20 Heptathlon Shot Put Audrey Goddard
14h30 Open Heptathlon Shot Put Brooklyn McCormick
16h45 Para Wheelchair 800m Final Josh Cassidy
17h00 U20 Heptathlon 200m Audrey Goddard
17h05 Open Heptathlon 200m Brooklyn McCormick