A busy morning on the first full day of the 2024 Canadian Track and Field Championships saw 30 athletes in action including two in finals.
Sadie Gibert competed well in her first national final, placing fourth in the U20 women’s shot put with a best throw of 10.88 metres. The result was a marked improvement over her result at the OFSAA Championships earlier this month where finished outside of the final in 18th.
Battling swirling winds that gave a number of vaulters headaches on the runway, Balqis Chouikhi managed to clear a height of 3.10 metres to finish 10th in the U20 women’s pole vault. The 16-year-old’s clearance was the third best clearance of her life.
In this morning’s qualifying rounds, three Lions performed well enough to advance to the main portion of the Championship. First to book their ticket was Doyin Ogunremi who advanced to the senior women’s 400 metre semi-finals after a seasonal best run of 55.75 seconds. This is the third straight year in which Ogunremi has advanced to the 400 metre semi-finals.
Over 100 metres, Bianca Borgella was among those to advance to the senior women’s 100 metre final after producing a windy 11.92 second effort. Borgella, who was a bronze medalist over 100 metres at last year’s World Para Athletics Championship, will contest the open women’s semi-final Friday night before running the Para Ambulatory 100 metre final to ensure her qualification for the Paralympic Games.
One of the newest Lions, Stephan Balson was the final qualifier out of this mornings’ session. Balson, who hails from St. Kitts’s and Nevis, advanced to the semi-finals of the U20 men’s 100 metres after placing second in his heat with a wind aided time of 10.81 seconds.