In a season marked by disruption, Ottawa Lions athletes delivered a powerful statement of resilience at the Canadian Indoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend. Training without their usual indoor home following last year’s collapse of the Louis-Riel Dome, the Lions rose to the occasion on the national stage, capturing five medals — including three gold — and rewriting portions of the club’s indoor record book in the process.
Leading the way was high jumper Maxime Cazabon, who continued his steady ascent through the age-group ranks with another national title in the U18 boys competition.
The reigning U16 indoor and outdoor champion cleared 1.90 metres to secure gold on Friday. Cazabon controlled the competition from the outset and effectively sealed the victory with a first-attempt clearance at 1.81m, putting himself firmly in command. His 1.90m clearance ultimately proved more than enough to secure top spot and add another national title to his growing résumé.
Also striking gold in the field events was 15-year-old pole vaulter Anabelle Muir, who delivered a composed and efficient series in the U18 girls competition.
Muir clinched the competition with a first-attempt clearance at 3.25 metres before going on to clear 3.35m — also on her first attempt — to secure the victory.
On the track, Penny Roy stepped up to the U18 division and emerged victorious in the 3000-metre race walk. Roy crossed the line in 20:49.96, a performance that now ranks second on the Ottawa Lions’ all-time U18 list.
In one of the weekend’s most tightly contested races, Max Gerundin captured bronze in the U18 boys 800 metres with a lifetime best of 1:56.46.
Gerundin was locked in a dramatic three-way battle with Edge Sport TC’s TJ Woods and Brandon Neil, with just 0.22 seconds separating gold from bronze at the finish line. His time stands as the fastest indoor 800m ever recorded by a U18 boy in club history. A day earlier, Gerundin narrowly missed his personal best in the 1500 metres, placing ninth in 4:06.10.
The Lions’ medal count was rounded out by Liam Mordel, who earned silver in the U16 boys pole vault with a clearance of 2.40 metres.
His older brother, Eli Mordel, delivered a pair of strong performances in the U20 division. Eli cleared 4.40m in the pole vault — ultimately finishing just off the podium after rival Jackson Tuplin secured the same height on fewer attempts — but earlier in the meet he etched his name into the club record book.
Eli clocked 8.14 seconds in the 60-metre hurdles to finish fifth, breaking the longstanding Ottawa Lions U20 indoor record of 8.22 set by Oluwasegun Makinde in 2010.