OTTAWA — Under the evening sky at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility on Saturday, the Ottawa Lions gathered to celebrate a season that stretched from record grassroots growth to podiums on the world stage. With perfect weather and a classic Terry Fox sunset as the backdrop, athletes, coaches, volunteers and families honoured the Club’s top performers of the year.
The 2025-26 season was one of adjustment, growth and transition. Despite losing its indoor training home for the season, the Club grew to more than 1,900 members, the most in its history, and completed its run of national championship hosting duties with the Canadian Track and Field Championships, the fifth Canadian championships the Lions have hosted since 2021. Even with a disrupted indoor preparation phase, Lions athletes brought the heat, delivering seven international medals, 57 national medals and 109 provincial medals. One masters world record fell, and 31 new age-class records were added to the Club’s all-time lists.
Gale, Moulongou, Gyamfi and Fraser Take Gilbert Awards
The evening’s top senior honours, the Gilbert Awards for Outstanding Athletes of the Year, went to four athletes who excelled at the national level and beyond.
For the fifth straight year, Lauren Gale claimed the female track award for a season that took her to the top of the Americas. The 400m specialist won the Pan American title in Medellín in 50.68, captured her first Canadian championship, and helped Canada to 4x400m bronze at the World Relays in Gaborone. She capped her summer at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she reached her first global final.
A first-time Gilbert Award winner, David Moulongou enjoyed a breakthrough season. The University of Ottawa student set the stage in his opening race of the season when he took down the 36-year-old Club record in the 400m hurdles. He would lower it twice more, culminating in a 49.92 time that ranks as the 10th-fastest time in Canadian history. In addition to the records, Moulongou captured his first Canadian title in front of the hometown crowd and made his Commonwealth Games debut.
Jessica Gyamfi earned the female field award for the third year in a row and was doubly honoured on the night as uOttawa’s Outstanding Female Athlete. She won bronze in the discus at the Canadian Championships with a personal best of 46.74m, an improvement of more than two metres, and took U SPORTS bronze in the shot put with a uOttawa school record of 13.87m. Gyamfi also won the Ontario Open shot put title.
Ottawa’s current king of the discus, Connor Fraser, earned the male field award for the third straight year. Hampered by injury this season, Fraser made the most of his only competition, taking silver at the Canadian Championships for his third consecutive national runner-up finish.
Rising Stars Shine
It’s been four straight years of recognition for Zachary Jeggo at the annual awards banquet. This year, the 19-year-old earned the honour of Outstanding Male U20 Athlete. The Simon Fraser University student made his international debut for Canada in 2026 after being named to the World Relays team and serving as co-captain for Canada at the World U20 Championships, where he was a semifinalist. On the track, Jeggo set a new Canadian U20 Indoor 400m record with a time of 46.72 and earned double All-American honours at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Outdoors, he captured his second individual Canadian U20 title, winning the 400m crown.
Norah Nitta-McKay was named Outstanding Female U20 Athlete after placing fourth at the OFSAA Championships in a personal best of 55.89, a time that cracked the Club’s all-time U20 top 10. She added 400m silver at the Ontario U18 Championships and 4x400m bronze at Legion Nationals.
Anabelle Muir, the Outstanding Female U18 Athlete, was a national champion indoors and out in the pole vault. The Glebe student won the Canadian Indoor U18 title and took Legion Nationals gold for Team Ontario with a 3.80m personal best, then added gold at both the OFSAA Championships and the Ontario U18 Championships. Along the way, she became the youngest female in Club history to clear 3.00m.
Maxime Cazabon earned Outstanding Male U18 Athlete honours after a standout season in the jumps. The Canadian Indoor U18 high jump champion broke the Ontario record in his pentathlon debut, then won both the high jump and triple jump at the OFSAA Championships, clearing 2.00m for the first time. He added bronze at the Canadian U20 Championships, two golds at the Ontario U18 Championships and a 4x100m title at Legion Nationals.
In the U16 ranks, Roan Gerth won silver in the 1500m steeplechase at Legion Nationals and added two silvers at the Ontario Summer Games, including a 6:39.22 over 2000m that ranks as the second-fastest in Club history.
Jake Claydon-St. John moved into the Club’s all-time U16 top 10 at the OFSAA Championships in both the 400m (No. 4) and 800m (No. 6). Claydon-St. John also garnered medals at the Ontario U16 Championships, Ontario Legion Championships, and the Ontario Summer Games.
Masters, Cross-Country, Combined Events and Para Honours
A world record and a world title were just two of the reasons Wendy Alexis was named Outstanding Female Masters Athlete this season. The 71-year-old lowered the W70 60m world record to 9.07 seconds at the Canadian Masters Indoor Championships. Outdoors, the former schoolteacher broke the Canadian W70 100m record to win another national title and she also set a championship record en route to winning the W70 100m World Championship. For good measure, she added silver in the W70 200m and bronze in the W55 4x100m at the World Masters Championships in South Korea.
J-Angelo Beraldin repeated as the Outstanding Male Masters Athlete, after collecting six medals in the M65 throws at the Canadian Masters Championships: silver in the shot put and javelin, and bronze in the discus, hammer, weight throw and throws pentathlon.
Saul Taler earned the male cross-country award after becoming the first Lions male to make a World Cross Country team since 2006. He took Ontario U20 silver before booking his spot on Team Canada at the Canadian Championships, then finished as the third Canadian at the World Championships in Tallahassee.
Isla Kittmer claimed the female cross-country award after a top-10 finish at the Canadian Cross Country Championships. She helped the U16 girls to team silver at both the Ontario and Canadian Championships.
The combined events award was shared by Kyle London and Leo Wallner. London won decathlon bronze at the Canadian Championships with a personal best of 6,382 points, less than 50 points shy of the Club U20 record, and took decathlon silver at the Ontario Championships. Wallner scored a personal best of 4,863 points for heptathlon silver at the OUA Championships, earning his first U SPORTS qualification, and added Ontario silvers in the decathlon and 110m hurdles before finishing fourth in the senior decathlon at the Canadian Championships.
Madison White and Jacob Gauthier shared the Sam Estwick Memorial Award as the Club’s Outstanding Para Athletes. White, a Carleton University student, won the sprint double in the Para Ambulatory category at both the Ontario Championships and Ontario Summer Games. Gauthier made history as the first athlete to win gold in the para division of the Ontario Cross Country Championships in Fall 2025. He followed that up with bronze at the Canadian Cross Country Championships.
The Lions also recognized their top university athletes. Rose Basu and Cole Simard were named Outstanding Carleton Ravens athletes, while Gyamfi and Safwan El Mansari received the honours for the University of Ottawa.
Sean Cole Memorial Award
Hosting the Canadian Track and Field Championships took an extraordinary team effort, with countless hours of volunteer service behind the scenes. The Sean Cole Memorial Award for Dedication to Club Service recognizes a Club member whose volunteer presence goes well beyond what is expected. Named in memory of Sean Cole (1956–1978), one of the Ottawa Lions’ top distance-running prospects and a scholar at Carleton University who died at just 21, the award reflects his all-round achievement and service to others. This year, the award recognized the members of the local organizing committee whose dedication helped bring the national championships to Ottawa: Ryan Rowat, Rick Watkins, Lisa Ferdinand, Karine Millard, Jackie Coughlin, Sarah Dillabaugh, Selwyn Desouza, Geneviève Daigle, Adrian Huynh, Rémi Combasson, Amanda Fader, Jessica McRae and Stephanie Lapolice.
Wearing the Maple Leaf
The President’s Award, presented annually to Lions who represent their country on a National Team in international competition, went to 10 members this year: six athletes and four coaches and integrated support staff.
- Lauren Gale — World Relays (4x400m bronze), Pan American Championships (400m gold), Commonwealth Games (400m finalist)
- Maëliss Trapeau — Pan American Championships (800m bronze), Commonwealth Games, World Indoor Championships
- David Moulongou — Commonwealth Games (400m hurdles semifinalist)
- Oluwasegun Makinde — Commonwealth Games (T12 100m bronze as a guide runner)
- Zachary Jeggo — World U20 Championships (400m semifinalist)
- Saul Taler — World Cross Country Championships (U20)
- Glenroy Gilbert, head coach — World Indoor Championships, World Relays, Pan American Championships, Commonwealth Games
- Gordon Cavé, sprints coach — World U20 Championships
- Leslie Estwick, jumps coach — Next Gen European Tour
- Sultana Frizell, integrated support team — Next Gen European Tour, World Cross Country Championships
A Season to Build On
Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients. With record membership, a world champion and a new generation of athletes already making their mark, the Lions head into the new season with plenty to build on.