A week after a fifth place finish in the Chicago Marathon, Joshua Cassidy found himself atop the podium in Toronto. Competing at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the two-time Paralympian broke his own course record by more than two minutes with his 1:37:36 clocking to win the event for the second straight year.
Cassidy was a big proponent of bringing a wheelchair division to the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and helping organizers with feedback on the course, logistics and the link. “This year we brought out a couple more racers to test out the course, and looking forward to bringing more international athletes to Toronto in the future,” he said on his Instagram account following the race.
In Quebec, a strong group of harriers took to the campus of the University of Sherbrooke for their Cross Country Invitational run. Leading the way for the second competition in a row was the pair of Nina Günther and André Alie-Lamarche.
Coming off a victory in Ottawa, Günther was third across the line in the longer eight kilometre race in Sherbrooke. The former University of Ottawa student finished in a time of 31 minutes and 12 seconds to equal l’Université de Montréal’s Elodie De Coene, who was awarded the silver.
Leading the way for the Carleton Ravens was Aria MacDonald, who placed 11th in the university women’s section. Last year’s Ontario U20 bronze medalist crossed the line in a time of 32 minutes and 41 seconds. Melina Hamel was again the top finisher for the Gee-Gee women, as she finished 14th in 33:01.
Alie-Lamarche continued his strong season on Saturday with his third podium performance. The fourth year student at the University of Ottawa took home the silver medal on the eight kilometre course, crossing the line with a time of 25 minutes and 15 seconds – just six seconds back of winner Thomas Laviolette of l’Université de Montréal.
Joining Alie-Lamarche in the top-25 was teammate William McLeish at 23rd.
The top runner for the Carleton Ravens was again David Birinberg who placed 43rd in a time of 28 minutes and 50 seconds.
Full results from the Sherbrooke event are available on the SportChrono website.