All posts by : Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

It was a record setting day for Lions athletes on the final day of the Athletics Ontario Junior/Senior Championships. Two club records fell, while a further nine medals were added to Saturday’s haul of 14.
Divya Biswal was the first to re-write the record book, eclipsing her own mark in the triple jump. Biswal’s leap of 13.27m was 16cm further than the standard she set earlier this year in Long Beach, California. With the distance, Divya would claim the silver, outdistanced only by Caroline Ehrhardt’s Canadian leading leap of 13.41m.
Next to etch their names in the record books was the quartet of Lauren Gale, Erinn Stenman-Fahey, Maddi Clarke and Sharelle Samuel who combined to win gold in the senior women’s 4x400m relay. The ladies ran a time of 3:44.58, nearly one and a half seconds better than the 2010 Canadian Junior winning team of Evelyn Scott, Fiona Callender, Samantha Murphy and Ashlea Maddex.
Other medal winners on day two included:
Jordan Weston – Junior Women’s 3000m – 10:20.87 (BRONZE)
Sharelle Samuel – Junior Women’s 400m Hurdles – 1:10.13 (SILVER)
Austin White – Junior Men’s 400m Hurdles – 55.70 (SILVER)
Saj Alhadad – Senior Men’s 400m Hurdles – 52.14 PB (SILVER)
Charifa Labarang – Senior Women’s 200m – 23.92 (BRONZE)
Saj Alhadad, Thomas Saville, Stephen Evans, Connor Ross – Senior Men’s 4x400m – 3:22.13
Roan Allen – Junior Men’s Javelin – 55.63m

The field event athletes were delivering fast and furious on day one of Athletics Ontario Junior/Senior Championships at the University of Windsor picking up a total of 8 of the 14 medals won by Lions athletes.
An impressive four medals went to just the Nedow family as brothers Tim and Thomas each picked up a pair. Thomas started things off with a bronze in the junior men’s shot put with a personal best 16.07m, quickly followed by Tim’s seasonal best 20.73m for gold in the senior category.
Thomas would again finished in the bronze medal position in junior men’s discus with a best throw of 51.29m, just 12 centimetres of his lifetime best. Tim would repeat his gold medal performance, with a best toss of 59.59m to take the senior discus title by more than nine metres.
Tanya Coulter and Sultana Frizell combined to sweep the junior and senior women’s hammer throw titles. Coulter’s best throw of 49.97m was just good enough for gold in the Under 20 category, as the silver medalist was a mere 12 centimetres behind. Frizell, however, had a much more comfortable road to victory, as her 63.71m throw was nine and a half metres better than second.
Divya Biswal settled for silver in the senior women’s long jump after a well timed sixth round effort by Emily Omahen snatched victory away. However, Biswal’s windy leap of 6.05w metres was an all-conditions best. Barbara Bitchoka also won silver, sharing the distinction with the University of  Toronto’s Danielle Delage after both ladies clear 1.65.
It was a blustery day on the track with many performances on the straightaway being above the legal 2.0 m/s limit. However, the wind didn’t stop Sekou Kaba from running away with the victory in the senior men’s 110m hurdles. The 2016 Olympian produced his best all-conditions time of the 2017 season, winning gold in 13.62w seconds.
Also in the sprint hurdles, Ashlea Maddex ran within a hair of her all-conditions best to cross the line in a time of 13.22w seconds for bronze in the senior women’s event. Teammate Devyani Biswal was 5th in 13.42w while Keira Christie-Galloway captured the junior women’s title in an all-conditions best of 13.45w.
The remaining medals on day one came from junior runner Sharelle Samuels, who placed second in the 400m with a time of 54.79 seconds, and the senior men and women’s 4x100m relays. Both relay teams captured gold, with the women posting an impressive time of 47.57 seconds. With the time, Charifa Labarang, Ashlea Maddex, Devyani Biswal, and Keira Christie-Galloway now move into third on the club’s all-time relay ranking.
 

It was a successful weekend on the track and in the field as Ottawa Lions athletes took home a combined five medals from this past weekend’s Athletics Ontario Combined Events Championships held in Ottawa.
The senior decathlete crew of Telvin Tavernier, Kevin Nault and James Little swept the podium for the Lions and captured an impressive 24 points for the club to towards the annual Ontario Team Title. Tavernier captured gold with a score of 6451 points, while Nault (5726) and Little (4795) took silver and bronze respectively and both with personal best performances.
On the ladies side, youth athletes Helena Jovic and Olivia Crewe picked up silver and bronze in their heptathlon debuts. Jovic amassed 3789 points over the seven events, while Crewe put up 3421.
In the weekend’s open events, shot putter Tim Nedow set a new Terry Fox Athletic Facility Record with a heave of 20.39m. The Commonwealth Games’ bronze medalist throw was 51 cm better than the University of Toronto Track Club’s Mike Spirotoso 19.88m heave, set at the Canadian Championships 31 years ago.

Dear Ottawa Lions Family,
In less than 20 days the Canadian Track & Field Championships return to Ottawa as part of Canada’s 150th celebrations.
It’s still early in the outdoor season, but our athletes have set a number of new Canadian records, captured high school championships, NCAA titles and impressed crowds at various international meets. What will happen when our nation’s best convene in Ottawa? Join us at Terry Fox Athletic Facility to find out by purchasing an Ottawa Lions Alumni Pass for only $100 at www.ottawa2017.eventbrite.ca.
Benefits of purchasing an Ottawa Lions Alumni Pass:

• Admission to the event July 6-9, with in-and-out privileges throughout the Championships
• Access to the Ottawa Lions Alumni tent presented by Moore Wrinn Financial Group / Chris Lee (the trackside position will feature some of the best sightlines in the venue)
• Complementary food and beverages on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening
• Ottawa Lions commemorative event pass featuring Melissa Bishop
• Opportunity to interact with current Ottawa Lions
• A $50 tax receipt per pass purchased – proceeds will go to the Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club

Our athletes are sure to feed off your excitement, energy and passion as they go for gold and look to secure their spot on the IAAF World Championships team.
Can’t commitment for the duration of the Championships? Day passes for adults and children are also available at www.ottawa2017.eventbrite.ca for July 6-9. And remember, children 12 years of age and under are free with the purchase of an adult pass.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in July!
Sincerely,
Athletics Canada and the Ottawa Lions

When the starting gun goes off at the 2017 IPC World Championships in London this July, four Lions will be wearing the maple leaf as they take their mark on the starting line.
Athletics Canada named their 24 member team on Monday including Lion athletes Josh Cassidy, Tommy Des Brisay along with Jason Dunkerley and his guide Jeremie Venne.
While Cassidy and Dunkerley will be returning to London’s Olympic stadium, the IPC Championships will mark the international debuts for both Des Brisay and Venne.
While retiring from international competition last fall, Dunkerley was named based on his performance last season and will contest the the T11 1500m with Venne. A veteran national team member, Dunkerley enters what is likely his final world championship with four medals, including three gold.
Racing in the T54 5000m, London will mark Cassidy’s fifth world championship. He is coming off a top 10 finish at last year’s Paralympic Games.
Des Brisay will contest will also be contesting the 5000m, though in the T20 category. He currently is ranked third globally with a best of 15:17.87.
The world championships will commence July 14 and continue until the 23rd
 
 

The high school track and field season culminated this past weekend in Belleville with the ever exciting OFSAA Championships where Lions athletes took home a combined 10 medals over the three days of competition, including three gold.
Ridgemont freshman Joe Fast lived up to his name over the weekend, capturing gold in Friday’s midget boys 1500m final. It was Fast’s final sprint down the home stretch which secured his victory in 4 minutes 7.16 seconds over Wiliam Mulock’s Dakota Goguen.
Fast followed up with a silver over 800m on Saturday, crossing the line in 2:01.61. However, nipping at his heals was Zachary Meredith, who has battled with Fast all season long. Meredith, of De La Salle, was third in 2:01.94 for his first OFSAA track medal.
Also picking up the OFSAA double was grade 10 student Brandon Ovington who won a silver and bronze in the junior boys shot put and discus respectively. Ovington, from West Carleton Secondary School, added nearly nine metres to his lifetime best in the event to finish third at 59.04m on Thursday. The next afternoon, Brandon moved up a step on the podium with a 17.08m heave for silver in the shot put.
Back on the track, golds were picked up by graduating hurdlers Keira Christie-Galloway and Austin White. Keira defended her 100m hurdle title, winning in 13.53 seconds. White was victorious in the 400m hurdles in a personal best 54.07 seconds. It was Austin’s first OFSAA gold after finishing second in last year’s final.
Ashbury College’s Sharelle Samuel receives the distinction of producing the best performance of the championship not to win gold, as the grade 11 student set personal best of 53.75 in the senior girls 400m to finish 0.24 seconds behind Guelph Centennial’s Ashlan Best. Samuel’s time moves her to number five in club history, jumping ahead of Olympian Alicia Brown.
Rounding out the medals were junior girl Helena Jovic, who was also a silver medalist over 400m in a personal best 57.24, and Caroline Poirier who cleared 3.30m in the senior girls pole vault for bronze. Finishing right behind Caroline were teammates Annabelle Gagne and Julia Maine who each set personal bests en-route to finishing 4th and 6th respectively.

Competing in a field which included seven of the top eight competitors at last summer’s Olympic Games, Melissa Bishop opened her season Saturday with a sixth place finish at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
Starting out of lane one, Bishop sat near the back of the pack before surging late to cross the line in a career best opener of 1:59.52.
“It’s the season opener, so I’m happy that it’s under two [minutes] but it shows there’s some work to do and it’s just about getting in more races and exploring the tactics,” Bishop said.

Athletics Canada announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2017 – Athletes Glenroy Gilbert (Ottawa Lions), Jillian Richardson-Briscoe and Thelma Wright; Coach Peter Manning; and Builders Judy Armstrong and Andy McInnis (Ottawa Lions).
Join us on Wednesday, July 5, to honour the Class of 2017 at our Hall of Fame and Awards Gala. The gala will take place in the International Ballroom at the Delta Ottawa City Centre, the official host hotel of the 2017 Canadian Track & Field Championships.

• Read the official announcement
• Tickets – purchase an ‘Early-Bird’ pass now through May 31 for only $20
• Athletics Canada Hall of Fame Inductees
• 2016 Annual Award Winners