The Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club saved their best for last.
On the final day of the Canadian Track and Field Championships Presented by Bell at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, the Lions swept the 4×400 metre relays — claiming gold in the U20 men’s, open men’s, and open women’s races. A fourth gold in the open women’s 4×100 metres completed a remarkable Sunday haul of eight relay medals in all.
Leading the charge was the senior women’s relay, which added another chapter to a dynasty now eight Championships strong. Alexandra Telford, Amy Stieh, Sharelle Samuel, and Lauren Gale crossed the line in a scintillating 3:36.39, winning by more than 13 seconds over the entry from Calgary International. Gale, who had already claimed the individual open women’s 400 metres title earlier in the week, anchored in 51.29 seconds — more than two seconds faster than any other single leg in the entire race. The time came within a second of the Club and Canadian Club record of 3:35.46, set at the 2022 Championship in Langley. A second Lions squad of Emily Brennan, Cora McQuinn, Tatiana Pender, and Kathryn Moreland missed silver by just 19 hundredths of a second, taking bronze in 3:50.19.
Next up were the U20 men, who repeated as national champions with the second-fastest performance in Championship history. Ayoub Shangai, Ethan Hood, Ange-Mathis Kramo, and Zachary Jeggo combined for a time of 3:11.78, winning by nearly nine seconds over the University of Toronto Track Club. Kramo posted the fastest split of the group at 46.78 seconds — a remarkable effort given he had already raced the U20 men’s 200 metres final earlier in the day, placing fifth in a career-best 21.08 seconds in slightly windy conditions. A second Lions entry of Taisei Tan, Declan McGinnity, Max Gerundin, and Nathan Cox also made the podium, taking bronze in 3:21.26.
The senior men then completed the 4×400 sweep. Luca Nicoletti, Safwan El Mansari, James Compeau, and David Moulongou crossed in 3:11.38 — the third-fastest time in Club history — to claim the Lions’ first national senior men’s 4×400 title since 2019. Moulongou, fresh off his 400 metres hurdles gold the day prior, sealed the victory with a stunning anchor split of 45.63 seconds.
In the U20 women’s 4×400, the Lions came close but were edged at the line by Laurel Creek, 3:53.11 to 3:54.10, to claim silver. Norah Nitta Mackay delivered the fastest leg of the race at 55.44 seconds for the quartet of Autumn Sakiyama, Shannor Dewar, Nitta Mackay, and Sophia McIntyre. Meanwhile, a second Lions entry of Anabelle Muir, Waverley Lyons, Atalia Williams, and Olivia Daigle-Dasah took bronze in 4:13.85.
To close out the relay programme, the open women’s 4×100 squad of Rose Basu, Danica Mulvihill, Kierra McGillivray, and Amy Zhang rounded out the golden afternoon with a winning time of 49.41 seconds.
Away from the relays, Tatum Olesen competed in her first Canadian championship, placing 10th in the open women’s 1500 metres final in 4:27.91. Grade 10 student Oscar Lorrain also had a day to remember, setting a personal best of 8:54.22 over 3000 metres to finish 23rd in the U20 event.
In the field, Elizabeth Moreland posted a seasonal best of 11.41 metres to place seventh in the open women’s triple jump, while Liam Davis was eighth in the open men’s shot put with a best throw of 14.68 metres.
The Lions will look to build on a landmark week when the Canadian Track and Field Championships return in 2027, with Western University in London, Ontario playing host for a two-year stint.