While the spotlight shone brightly on Boston last weekend, Ottawa Lions athletes were also turning heads across North America and France. The weekend haul included a Canadian masters record, a world-class 800-metre performance, and several marks that reshaped the club’s all-time rankings.
In Toronto, Liz Maguire delivered a historic performance at the AO Winter Mini Meet, breaking the Canadian W55 indoor record in the 5000 metres. Maguire, who placed second in the all-comers race, crossed the line in 19:40.57, lowering the previous national record set in 2024 by nearly 100 seconds. The mark is Maguire’s third Canadian masters record, adding to her outdoor W55 standards in the 1500 metres and the mile.
Across the Atlantic, middle-distance standout Maëliss Trapeau placed fourth in the women’s 800 metres at the Meeting Miramas Métropole in France. The defending Canadian champion clocked 2:02.41, the second-fastest indoor performance of her career. Trapeau is aiming to secure a place at this year’s World Indoor Championships in Poland this March. She currently sits 25th in the Road to Kujawy Pomorze rankings, with the top 30 athletes earning selection.
In the United States, Maddie Seaby delivered a breakthrough run at home in the women’s 3000 metres at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, stopping the clock at 9:35.43. The performance moves Seaby to seventh on the club’s U23 all-time list and improves on her previous personal best of 9:36.96 set last February. She also added a mile personal best of 4:58.91 the following day.
At the PSU National Open in Pennsylvania, several Lions posted notable results. Nicolas Belan (University of Guelph) turned in one of the busiest – and most productive – weekends of any Lion, recording a pair of U23 all-time top-10 performances. He ran 4:06.17 in the mile and followed with a 2:26.30 clocking over 1000 metres. Those marks place him 10th on the club’s U23 mile list and sixth in the 1000 metres. His mile performance also moves him to eighth in the current U SPORTS rankings, strengthening his championship positioning.
Combined events athlete Leo Wallner (Western University) delivered the strongest heptathlon of his career, scoring 4,831 points to finish fifth overall at the Penn State meet. The score moves him to seventh on the club’s all-time list and currently ranks ninth in the country. Wallner equalled his high jump personal best at 1.90 metres and set a lifetime best of 12.38 metres in the shot put as part of a strong seven-event series.
Paulina Procyk (University of Toronto)matched her personal best of 8.63 seconds in the women’s 60-metre hurdles on her way to a fifth-place finish. It was a busy schedule for the University of Toronto graduate student, who also competed in the flat 60 metres before racing three rounds of hurdles. Procyk currently ranks 13th nationally, just one position shy of the U SPORTS automatic qualifying standard.
At La Classique Héloise in Montreal, U18 vaulter Anabelle Muir rebounded from a disappointing outing the previous weekend to clear 3.45 metres. The mark moves her to third on the club’s U18 all-time list and places her 10th overall in club history across all age categories — a significant milestone for the developing vaulter. Muir currently ranks second nationally in her age group.