The penultimate Ottawa Summer Twilight Meet of the season delivered another round of fireworks before the Canadian Track and Field Championships arrive at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility this week. Headlining the evening was none other than Wendy Alexis, who continues to redefine what’s possible in masters sprinting.
The 70-year-old Alexis once again lowered her own W70 world record in the 100 metres, stopping the clock in 14.44 seconds—shaving a tenth of a second off the 14.54 mark she set just 12 days earlier. It marks the third time this season Alexis has rewritten the record, having now taken 26 hundredths off the 14.70 standard that stood at the season’s outset.
Not to be outdone, rising star Maxime Cazabon etched his name into the club’s history books with a record-breaking performance in the triple jump. The soon-to-be Grade 10 student became the first U16 boy in club history to surpass the 13-metre barrier, soaring 13.14 metres with a legal tailwind of 2.0 m/s. His leap eclipsed the previous club U16 record of 12.89m, set by Victor Chan at the 2009 Canadian Legion Championships.
There was more success in the triple jump pit as Atalia Williams joined the record books, cracking the 10-metre mark for the first time in her career. Her 10.03m effort moves her to ninth on the all-time club list for U16 girls.
In total, 23 personal bests were recorded across Wednesday night’s competition, setting the stage for a high-powered showing at this week’s national championships.