All posts by : Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

Olympian Tim Nedow took another step on his way back to a global championship on Thursday, winning Mideast Invitational shot put at Widener University in Pennsylvania.
The 6 foot 5 inch Brockville native launched the 16 pound ball out to 20.72m for the victory, and surpass the entry standard this summer’s IAAF World Championships in London. To secure his position on Team Canada, Nedow will need to finish among the top two at the Canadian Championships in Ottawa.
At the same competition, Ashlea Maddex continued her recent string of success, winning the 100m hurdles over teammate Devyani Biswal with a time of 13.40 seconds. Maddex was also the victor over 100m and took second in the 200m.
Opening her season Saturday in Windsor was two-time Olympian Melissa Bishop, moving up to the 1500m much like she did in 2016’s season opener. The 2015 World Championship silver medalist took the lead at the 400m mark following the pace setter’s departure and never relinquished it, holding off Shannon Osika of the United States to win in 4:10.30.
In Arizona, Sultana Frizell extended her season’s best to 68.01m in the hammer throw as she finished fourth at the Tucson Elite Classic.

Olympic relay champion Glenroy Gilbert has been named Canada’s head coach for the world track and field championships, while Kim Cousins and Rick Reelie will be Canada’s co-head coaches at the world para championships.
Athletics Canada remains without a head coach since the firing of Peter Eriksson in December
Gilbert, an Ottawa native, ran on the Canadian 4×100-metre relay team that won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996. He’s worked with Canada’s relay program for several years.
“We have great momentum coming off our best Olympic Games in modern history, the focus continues to be high performance, driven by results,” Gilbert said Friday in a release.
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It was a successful weekend under the Arizona sun for four lady Lions at the Desert Challenge Games in Phoenix this past weekend. Among the highlights were Canadian Record performances by Keegan Gaunt and Shanna Boutilier.
As the lone entry in her 800m race, Gaunt obliterated the previous Canadian T13 record, crossing the finish line in 2:24.24. Gaunt’s performance was more than 10 seconds faster than the previous standard set by Courtney Knight at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney.
While Shanna Boutillier swept all three sprint titles, it was her winning time of 1:06.73 in the T46 400m which will be etched into the Canadian record books. Boutillier also won the 100m in 15.03 seconds
before taking the 200m in 30.83.
In the T12 category, Larissa Brown was victorious in the 100m, 200m and long jump. All three of Brown’s performances (13.85s, 27.95s and 4.72m) were slightly off her current Canadian records.
Also competing was 2012 Paralympian Rachael Burrows, who was third in the T34 200m and fourth in both the 100m and 400m.
Also this weekend, a small contingent took part in the Swathmore Final Qualifier in Pennsylvania with Lions athletes picking up seven medals including three golds.
The hurdlers again had a strong outing, sweeping both the men’s and women’s titles as well as finishing 1-2-3 in the women’s event. Ashlea Maddex led the women’s contingent winning in a seasonal best equaling 13.38 seconds. Maddex also picked up a silver in the open 100m. Devyani Biswal and Tania Bambi were second and third respectively while Sekou Kaba won the men’s event.
In the field, 2016 Olympian Tim Nedow dominated the men’s shot put field, easily winning with a best toss of 20.21m. The next closest competitor was nearly four and a half metres behind.
In the women’s triple jump, club record holder Divya Biswal was second place finisher with a best leap of 12.61m.
Finally, at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships, Adam Palamar finished 4th in 3 minutes 47.34 seconds.

When the athletics portion of the 2017 Francophone Games kicks off in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on July 28, the Ottawa Lions will be well represented with four participating athletes as well as team coach James Holder.
Leading the Lions contingent will be 2016 Olympian Sekou Kaba. This will be Kaba’s second time representing Canada at the Francophone Games after winning four years ago in Nice, France.
Hurdler Ashlea Maddex will be making her senior national team debut after a successful career at global and regional age class championships, including twice winning bronze at the NACAC under-23 Championships.
Rounding out the Lions contingent will be twins Divya and Devyani Biswal. This will be the first national team appointment for both women. Divya, who will compete in the triple jump, is having a breakout season having already broken a 16 year old club record while cracking the 13 metre barrier. Devyani, the 2016 Canadian University Champion over the 60m hurdles, will join Maddex in the 100m hurdles.
 

Lions athletes closed out the month of April in variety of competitions across the United States, with 11 competing at the Big Red Invitational in Ithaca, NY on Sunday. The small contingent picked up a total of three medals on the Cornell University campus.
Saj Alhadad picked up the only victory in Ithaca, winning the men’s 400m hurdle race in a time of 54.29, narrowly edging out Clayton Jeffrey of the host school.
Grabbing a silver was Stephen Evans who finished second in the men’s 800m in a time of 1:55.72, four seconds behind Paul Lovell of Syracuse who won in a facility record time. Brandyn Martineau made the 100m final, finishing seventh.
On the women’s side, Ashlea Maddex was second in the 100m hurdles in a seasonal best 13.50 seconds. She was joined in the final by Devyani Biswal and Keira Christie-Galloway who were fourth and fifth respectively in seasonal best times as well. In the field, Tanya Coulter hurled the hammer out to 47.44m. The mark currently ranks sixth among juniors in Canada.
Further south in Philadelphia, Biswal’s twin Divya bounded out to 12.66m to take bronze in the Penn Relays Olympic Development triple jump.
 

From Runners World

Tommy Des Brisay had an insatiable need to move when he was a child.

He began walking at 8 months old. He would bounce on his backyard trampoline for hours and climb heights fearlessly. He slept only three hours a night until he was 7. As he grew older, he would go on long tandem bike rides, cross-country ski, and lead his father on walks that would leave them stranded miles from their home in Ottawa, Ontario.
And when he was stressed or upset, Des Brisay—who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 and a half—would run. This posed a danger, because he didn’t understand what could harm him: traffic, exposure to weather, strangers.
When he was 14, in 2006, his mother, Mary Ann Given Des Brisay, asked her husband, Peter Des Brisay, to try taking their son along on his daily run, hoping to provide him a way to channel his desire for movement.
“It made sense—take something someone is instinctively driven to do and make it into a positive, rather than try to squelch a behavior,” Given Des Brisay said.
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It was a busy three day tour of Southern California for a small group of Lions this past weekend and for Divya Biswal, it was one for the record books.
With stops at Cal State University – Los Angeles, Azusa Pacific University and Long Beach State University,  Biswal broke the nearly 15 year old club record in the triple jump not once, but twice in two days, adding 37 cm to the old standard.
The record fell first Friday night at the Bryan Clay Invitational on the campus of of Azusa Pacific University when the former NCAA Division III champion bounded out to a new lifetime best of 12.89m.
While spending her days working as an analyst on Wall Street, Biswal has been steadily improving in her second year out of university, highlighted by her 13.11m record performance to win in Long Beach on Saturday – the third personal best of the season.
However, Divya’s excellence was restricted to bounding thrice, but also the long jump where she cracked the six metre barrier for the first time on Thursday in winning at Cal State Los Angeles with a leap of 6.01m. The performance moves her to third in club history.
On the track, Saj Alhadad lowered his personal best by the narrowest of margins Friday, running 52.47 in the 400m hurdles at Azusa. His previous best of 52.48 was set last year. He currently ranks seventh in club history.
 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW STARTING AS LOW AS $15 PER DAY

Ottawa – Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic stars, including Andre De Grasse, Melissa Bishop, Damian Warner, Derek Drouin, Alister McQueen and Brent Lakatos, will descend on Ottawa July 3-9 for the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships. The championships take place at Terry Fox Athletic Facility as part of Canada’s 150th celebrations.
“It has been awhile since Ottawa has hosted the national championships,” said Canadian 800-metres record holder Melissa Bishop. “I was actually a junior helping the Ottawa Lions with the meet the last time it was in Ottawa. To have it in the nation’s capital for Canada’s 150th is special.”
“It will be exciting that so many of my supporters will be able to see my race in person, and be able to witness so much more of the talent from our Canadian athletes,” added Bishop. “In addition to my family and friends, I suspect I’ll have a lot of fans from Eganville and the Ottawa Valley [in the stands] as well.”
With a number of local track and field stars, including several Rio Olympians and Paralympians, competition will be fierce for the honour of earning the title of Canadian champion, in addition to a place on the national team for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, England.
“Fans should know that the World Championships are in August following [Nationals],” said Sekou Kaba who competes in the 110-metre hurdles. “With only three spots available (per event) for team selection, who wouldn’t want to witness Olympians and rising stars compete for the privilege to represent Canada in London. The event is sure to be action-packed with world-class performances, Cinderella moments, and of course, fun and entertainment to keep the crowd on their toes.”
“To win a Canadian title in front of a hometown crowd will be a massive accomplishment for me,” said Larissa Brown, a local para-athlete who’s looking to secure her sport on the national team competing at the IPC World Championships in the 100-metres, 200-metres and long jump. “Last year, I was nipped out of a gold medal in the 100-metres at the finish line, and I plan to remedy this situation [in Ottawa].”
The championships begin with free admission for all guests July 3-5 for the NACAC Combined Events Championships / Pan Am Cup, Canadian Combined Events Championships and the Boiling Point USA vs. Canada Para Challenge.
Tickets are on sale now at www.ottawa2017.eventbrite.ca and start as low as $15 per day July 6-9 (children 12 years of age and under are free for the duration of the Championships). Spectators can also purchase a Championships Pass for only $50 that will give them access to all events taking place July 6-9 at Terry Fox Athletic Facility.
“We have such a strong team right now, and it’s not every day you get to see Olympic/Paralympic champions and medallists compete right in front of you,” said Olympic shot putter Tim Nedow. “When people see how high Derek Drouin is jumping, or just how fast Andre De Grasse runs the 100-meters… it’s amazing. You have to witness it in person to really understand how impressive these guys and other athletes are.”
“For me, the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto were the first time my friends and family were able to watch me compete at a world-class level,” added Nedow. “It was an awesome experience and my family will definitely be there in the stands. I hope my brother (18-year-old Thomas) will hit the standard and join me in the competition.”
Fans looking for an exciting and rewarding way to be involved in Canada’s premier track and field event are encouraged to sign-up to become a volunteer. With positions in event registration, guest services, event support and more, there is a spot for everyone who wants to be part of the event.
For more information on the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships, including schedule of events, volunteer application form, ticket information and accommodations, visit www.athletics.ca/ottawa2017.
Members of the media looking to cover the championships are asked to fill-out the media accreditation request form located on the championships webpage.
 

Sprinters Wendy Alexis and Serge Faucher combined for three medals at the recently completed World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Daegu, Korea.
Alexis proved yet again she is among the fastest women in the world in the over 60 age category, speeding to silver medals in both the 60m and 200m races. While the 61 year old teacher was able to put forth a seasonal best effort of 8.85 seconds in the 60m preliminaries, she was narrowly edged out by compatriot Karla Del Grande in the final.
Over 200m it was again a battle between Del Grande and Alexis, with the results looking exactly the same as Wendy crossed in 29.26 seconds, two tenths behind her rival. However, Alexis’ time was a seasonal best by nearly half a second.
For Serge Faucher it was representing Canada on the M50 4x200m relay where he shone, running third leg on the silver medal winning team. The Canadian quartet finished just over a second behind the victorious Americans.
In his individual events, Faucher ran a seasonal best of 54.90 to finish 6th in the 400m while also finishing 10th and 11th in the 200m and 60m respectively.
Also competing on the global scene, Shona McCulloch finished 86th in the junior women’s race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda.  The Canadian team finished in 6th place, it’s third best finish in the history of the competition.