All posts by : Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

Melissa Bishop showed she was one to be reckoned with in the Commonwealth Games 800m, easily qualifying for Thursday night’s semi-finals. The Canadian champion made the quickest work of the competition, winning her heat in 2:01.73 ahead of Jessica Judd of England.
Bishop’s time was the fastest time in the heats, but she will be in good company for Thursday’s semi-final where she will line up against the likes Kenyan Eunice Jepkoech and Jenny Meadows of England. The top three runners along with the next two fastest runner’s will qualify for Friday’s final.
Also competing on Thursday will be wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy as he lines up in the T54 1500m final at 2:35 pm Eastern. He will be looking to improve upon the bronze he won four years ago in Delhi.
 

It was a slower, more tactical, T54 1500m semi-final for Josh Cassidy on Tuesday morning in Glasgow, but he was up to the task, finishing second and securing his spot in Thursday’s final.
Josh crossed the line in 3:29.81 behind England’s David Weir, who won in 3:28.24. Australian Richard Colman was third in 3:30.09.
Also competing on Tuesday was Michael Robertson – running in the 400m semi-final. Robertson crossed the line in 47.30 seconds to finish sixth in semi-final three. Putting things in perspective, Robertson remarked, “Really tough couple of races but I know I can compete with those guys and the experience bank just continues to grow! Now onto the Relay on August 1st where we look to make a push for that final!”

By Lori Ewing

The Canadian Press

GLASGOW — Sultana Frizell spent her pre-Games training camp in Portugal working out in her bathing suit, throwing someone else’s hammers. Her bag had been lost in transit.

It wasn’t the perfect preparation the Perth athlete had planned, but she shrugged it off Monday night by capturing hammer throw gold at theCommonwealth Games, breaking the Games record three times in the process.

“I didn’t have my hammers or my throwing gear. Or underwear. For about six days,” Frizell, a member of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, said with a smirk. “That was fun. I threw in my bathing suit.”

The 29-year-old threw 71.69 metres to claim gold, but left Hampden Park disappointed that she didn’t come closer to the Canadian record of 75.73 she threw earlier this season.

“I’m very happy to win gold again and move the Commonwealth record a little bit further,” she said. “It wasn’t as far as I would have liked it. … I was feeling in good form and I thought I was going to do a little more today, but it wasn’t in the tank.

“But you know what? It was a great day.”

To read the full story, click here.

There are no rules at the Charity Costume Dash, anything can happen. Bring some extra cash and come out to watch something ridiculous. A few laughs are guaranteed, and it’s all for a fantastic cause.
Who: YOU! Athletes, parents, coaches and supporters alike will have something to laugh at.
What: The concept is simple – pitch in $5, pick an item from the Costume Box, and it will be worn by a group of runners during a 60m fun ‘race’. The more ridiculous, the better! Costume items will include cowboy hats, bikinis, wigs, grass skirts, Christmas sweaters and many more outrageous items that just weren’t meant to be run in. Anyone wanting to run alongside is welcome as well.
Where: Terry Fox Athletic Facility – look for volunteers canvasing around the spectator area. The 60m race will start in front of the spectator area for all to see.
When: Wednesday July 30th 2014 during the Summer Twilight Meet – approx. 8:05pm (possibly earlier) after the 150m races. Be sure to find a volunteer to make a donation prior to the race!
Why: 100% of funds raised will go to the Ottawa Hospital Foundation for cancer research. The funds will be going towards Ottawa Lions athletes’ representative Gord Frenke’s Ride the Rideau fundraising campaign, in which he will be cycling 160km for the cause during the incredible Ride The Rideau event.
To check out Gord’s fundraising profile, donate or get more information on Ride The Rideau, go to the link below:
https://secure.ohfoundation-fondationho.ca/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=2219530&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ridetherideau.ca%2fgive%2f#&panel1-1
And if you have something of your own that you would like to see worn during the dash, bring it!

Again – There are no rules at the Charity Costume Dash, anything can happen.

Hammer thrower Sultana Frizell kicks off the 20th Commonwealth Games today in a very good position to defend the title she won four years ago in New Delhi, India. The Games record holder, Frizell enters the competition as the top ranked thrower in the Commonwealth based on her Canadian record throw of 75.73m set back in May.
Frizell’s qualifying round kicks off at 11:35 a.m. Eastern, where she will throw 13th in the order. Should she be successful in qualifying, Frizell will advance to Monday’s final, set to start at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
You should be able to catch the action live on the Commonwealth Games YouTube Channel.
Other Lions competing in Glasgow include:

• Michael Robertson – 400m, 4x400m relay
• Josh Cassidy – T54 1500m
• Melissa Bishop – 800m
• Oluwasegun Makinde – 4x100m Relay

As we approach the end of the season, we ask you all to be aware of the upcoming track closures for the month of  August.
There can be no practices held on:
Saturday, August 2
Monday, August 4
Saturday, August 9
Saturday, August 23
Saturday, August 30
Due to track closures for other events.
FYI the last day for the Junior Development program is the Twilight meet on August 6th. If athletes are not competing, the last day is Thursday, July 31^st.
For Junior Competitive athletes attending Youth Nationals, practices will continue until they leave for BC (excluding track closure dates).
For the athletes not attending at Youth Nationals, the last day of programming is the Twilight meet on August 6^th. If athletes are not competing, the last day is Thursday, July 31^st.
Should you have any questions, please contact our office – 613-247-4886

Spearheaded by athletes rep, Gord Frenke, we gladly present our first installment of the Twilight Meet 3 Stars.
In no particular order:

• Telvin Tavernier for setting a new seasonal best of 4.30m to win the pole vault
• Lauren Gale for her PB performance of 40.52 seconds in the 300m.
• Karelle Edwards for running a personal 39.75 seconds in the 300m. The time was just 0.01 seconds off the Lions all-time top 10 rankings.

Congratulations to all those who competed last night. We’ll see you next week at Ottawa Summer Twilight #7
 

It was just the international debut Erinn Stenman-Fahey was looking for when she stepped on to the track today in Eugene, Oregon – a personal best and a birth in tomorrow’s 800m semi-finals at the IAAF World Junior Championships.
Sitting in sixth for most of the race, Erinn swung wide as she hit the homestretch and started to make her move. “It felt really good, I felt strong. They went out fast, I stayed with the 2nd pack and picked runners off,” remarked the 17 year old. She would cross the line in fourth in a lifetime best of 2:06.96.
As a result, Stenman-Fahey was forced to sit and wait on the results of the fourth and final heat to find out if she would qualify on time. After a short wait, her fate was sealed and she would live to run another day. Unable to hold back the excitement, Erinn proclaimed, “That was fun!”
With her time, Erinn now moves into 10th all time in club history, and also becomes the first female Lion to advance to a World Junior semi-final since Karelle Edwards qualified in the 100m hurdles at the 2008 championship in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
You can watch Erinn’s race on the IAAF’s YouTube Channel

The day has come for Erinn Stenman-Fahey – the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships kick off today in Eugene, Oregon where the Canterbury student is set to step on to to the track at the historic Hayward Field for round one of the 800m.
Stenman-Fahey, who earned her ticket to Eugene by placing second in the 800m two weeks ago at the Canadian Junior Championships, will line up in heat 3, lane 7. With the top 3 in each heat automatically advancing to the semi-finals, plus the next four fastest times, Erinn will undoubtedly be in tough to move on. She enters the competition ranked sixth in her heat with a best time of 2:08.09. The competition’s top ranked runner is Sahily Diago of Cuba who holds a best of 1:57.74 from earlier this year.
The 800m heats kick off at 3:15 pm eastern, with Erinn’s race scheduled for 3:29. You can catch the action live via USATF.tv
 

After losing the junior crown in 2013 for just the first time in eight years, the Ottawa Lions came back with authority in 2014 – capturing their 10th Athletics Ontario Junior Team Championship in 12 years. Scoring 209 valuable team points over this past weekend, the Lions junior team more than doubled their nearest competitor – University of Toronto Track Club with 102 points.
Leading the under 20 team were Alexia Lamothe, Matt Bedard and Charifa Labarang who each collected individual gold. Lamothe contributed an astounding 36 points after winning the 100m hurdles in a personal best 14.07 and picking up a silver in the 400m hurdles in 1:00.46 – also a personal best. Lamothe was also a member of the gold medal winning 4x100m relay and silver medal winning 4x400m relay teams.
Bedard picked his first provincial 400m title on Saturday, using a late surge to take the win in a personal best 48.44 – just 0.02 seconds ahead of Khalil Parris of Border City Athletic Club. Matt looked on pace to make it a double with the 400m hurdles before falling over the eight barrier. However, he would recover to still pick up a bronxze. He also picked up two relay golds, running on the junior 4x400m team, and also stepping up to help the seniors in the 4x100m.
Labarang picked up the title of Ontario’s fastest junior woman, taking the 100m title in 12.26 seconds. The University of Ottawa student also part of  the silver medal winning senior women’s 4x100m team.
In the senior category, the Lions lost the senior team championship for only the third time in 15 years, finishing in second behind the University of Toronto Track Club. The lone individual senior champion was Sekou Kaba in the 110m hurdles. His winning time of 13.68 seconds was also a new lifetime best.