Four years after it was originally scheduled, Montreal will finally host the Olympic and Paralympic Trials this weekend at the Centre Sportif Claude Robillard. Over 80 Lions athletes will be in action, competing for national glory in the U20, Open, and Para categories. For a select few, this event also serves as a crucial step towards earning a spot on Team Canada and competing later this summer in Paris.
Lions athletes are aiming to surpass their impressive haul of 10 medals from last year’s competition in Langley.
Elite Contenders
Among the favorites for medals and spots in Paris are sprinters Lauren Gale and Bianca Borgella. Both women enter the meet as the top seed in their principal events.
Lauren Gale is the top seed in the women’s 400 metres after setting a Club record of 50.47 seconds at the Royal City Inferno. Her time is well below the Olympic standard, and a victory will secure her place on her second Olympic team. Gale will also compete in the 200 metres, where she is ranked second with a time of 22.85 seconds.
Bianca Borgella is aiming to make her first Paralympic Team in the Para Ambulatory 100 metres. Borgella is currently the top-ranked T13 100-metre sprinter in the world, with a Canadian record of 11.91 seconds set last month in London. With no T13 200 metres event in Paris, Borgella will also contest the Open 200 metres alongside Gale.
Mid-Distance and Hurdles
Kevin Robertson and Stephen Evans, fresh off setting Club records, will be looking to improve upon their bronze medal performances from last year. Robertson recently ran the fastest 2000 metres by a Canadian in 34 years and enters the 3000 metres as the fifth seed with a time of 8:33.88. Evans, who set a Club record of 2:19.77 for 1000 metres, will leverage his powerful finishing kick in the 800 metres, aiming for a podium finish.
In the men’s 110-metre hurdles, all eyes will be on defending Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner. However, Lions fans will be closely watching David Adeleye, who aims to make the national podium for a second consecutive year. Adeleye, this year’s USports 60-metre hurdles runner-up, has a personal best of 13.84 seconds and is ranked third behind Warner and last year’s champion, Craig Thorne.
Promising Juniors
The junior ranks showcase a bright future, with several athletes poised for podium finishes this weekend.
Jorai Oppong-Nketiah, the youngest Lion at 16, missed the high school season due to a school transfer but set a new Canadian U18 record of 11.51 seconds last month in London. As the defending Canadian U16 champion, she tops the rankings heading into this weekend’s championship.
In the U20 men’s 400 metres, Zachary Jeggo, Stephan Balson, and William Sanders all surpassed the qualification standard. Jeggo leads with the second fastest performance in the nation (47.82), followed by Balson (48.27) and Sanders (48.64). Jeggo will also compete in the 400-metre hurdles, where he is the second fastest performer with a personal best of 52.97 seconds.
Quinn Coughlin is the top-ranked athlete in the U20 women’s 400-metre hurdles. After a fourth-place finish last year, she recently improved her lifetime best to 1:00.30 and aims to make the podium this weekend.
In the men’s 1500 metres, Nicolas Belan will battle for a top-two finish to secure his spot on the Canadian team for this year’s World U20 Championships. Belan set a personal best of 3:46.89 earlier this month in Hamilton.
Maddie Seaby, after an outstanding freshman season at the University of Louisville, is a medal contender in the U20 women’s 5000 metres. Her personal best of 16:35.43 ranks her second behind Alberta’s Chloe Turner.
Lastly, heptathlete Kathryn Moreland enters the U20 event ranked second in Canada. The second-year University of Ottawa student set a personal best of 4201 points at the Ottawa Spring Kick Start in May.
For live results from this year’s championship, visit Athletics Canada website. You can also catch all the action on AthleticsCanada.tv (subscription required).