She’s done it again folks! For the fourth time in her career, Lauren Gale is the holder of a Canadian record. This time it’s at 300 metres.
Gale, who previously set Canadian indoor standards at 200 and 400 metres as well as the 4×400 metre relay during the 2022 season, closed out her 2024 indoor campaign with an eye popping 36.48 second 300 metre run to obliterate the rest of the field at the Ravens Last Chance Meet at the Dome @ Louis-Riel.
The Tokyo Olympian appeared primed for a big performance after dropping a massive personal best of 7.46 seconds over 60 metres in the lead up to the 300. Gale’s time in the short sprint was the fourth fastest in Club history.
Ladonna Antoine set the previous Canadian best over 300 metres of 36.64 seconds in Brisbane during a tune up meet for the Sydney Olympics. Gale was nine months old at the time.
While Gale’s mark of 36.48 was set indoors at the Louis-Riel Dome, it will not count as a Canadian Indoor Record due to the oversized length of the Dome’s track.
A number of other Lions enjoyed success over 300 metres Saturday. Chief among them was the second place finisher behind Gale, Victoria McIntyre, who also booked a ticket on the PB-train. McIntyre crossed the line in a time of 38.66 seconds, dropping nearly four tenths of a second off her previous best to move to equal number five in Club history. Like Gale, McIntyre’s all-time performance came in the wake of a personal best over 60 metres (7.69).
Doyin Ogunremi placed third behind her two club mates at 300 metres – finishing in 38.73 seconds. The fourth year Health Science student’s performance set a new standard for the University of Ottawa, besting the previous standard of 39.29 set by Christianne Lela in 2008. Ogunremi’s performance was also the seventh fastest in Club history.
Rounding out the notable 300 metre performances was Jorai Oppong-Nketiah. The grade 10 student recorded a personal best of 40.51 seconds to move to tenth on the Club’s U18 girls list.
With his victory at 1000 metres, Nicolas Belan made people sit up and take notice. The 18-year-old took home the victory in an impressive clocking of 2 minutes and 26.88 seconds. Belan’s performance was not only a meet record, but broke the Dome’s U20 record and moved him to fourth on the Club’s all-time U20 list and tenth on the Open list.
Rounding out the action, Adelle McLeod continued to rewrite the Carleton University record books. For the second time in as many competitions, the first year student leapt her way to new records in the long jump (5.13m) and triple jump (11.18m).
Varsity programs will return to action this Friday as they kick off conference championships in Windsor (uOttawa) and Quebec City (Carleton).
For full results from the Ravens Last Chance Meet, please visit our results page.
Photos from the event can be found on Mundo Sports Images.
Updated rankings are also available:
Ottawa Lions
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees
Carleton University Ravens