Jessica Gyamfi delivered the Ottawa Lions’ first medal of the weekend Friday evening, striking gold in the open women’s shot put to kick off the Ontario U20 and Open Championships at the University of Windsor’s Alumni Stadium.
The University of Ottawa student continued her strong outdoor campaign by launching the 4-kilogram implement 12.79 metres—enough to edge out Dalyssa Huggins of the York University Track Club by 16 centimetres. Gyamfi returns to action Saturday afternoon in the discus, an event in which she’s made significant strides recently, improving her personal best by more than three metres over the past month.
Also in the throws circle, Sadie Gilbert placed fifth in the U20 women’s shot put. The recent Paul-Desmarais graduate saved her best for last, registering a mark of 11.79 metres in the final round—her third-best throw to date.
With temperatures hovering in the 30s, Zachary Sikka braved the heat in the open men’s 5000 metres to place seventh in 15:56.83—the second-fastest time of his career.
The bulk of Friday’s schedule centred on the 400-metre preliminaries, where the Lions’ depth was on full display. Six junior men earned spots in Saturday’s timed finals, with three advancing to the A final. Zachary Jeggo led the charge with a time of 48.69 seconds, followed closely by Ayoub Shangai (49.18) and Ange-Mathis Kramo (49.31). William Sanders (49.73), Kyle London (49.53), and Safwan El Mansari (49.98) all advanced to the B final.
On the women’s side, Olympian Lauren Gale topped all open qualifiers with a smooth 53.08 clocking to secure her place in the A final. She’ll be joined by Alexandra Telford (57.04), while Cora McQuinn, Courtney Cenac, and Elliot Tyman will compete in the B final.
In the U20 women’s division, both Shannon Dewar and Sophia McIntyre advanced to Saturday’s B final after solid performances in their preliminary rounds.
Action continues through Sunday in Windsor, where the Lions will look to defend their provincial U20 title. Live results are available at: https://athleticsontario.anet.live/meets/54609