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Robertson wins NACAC U23 steeplechase title

by Internationallinkinbio

Standing atop the podium, clad in red and white. The loud speakers belting out the best instrumental version of “O’ Canada”.  It’s the moment most athletes in Canada aspire to realise. On Sunday afternoon, standing inside the Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica Kevin Robertson got his moment. 

Competing at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Under-23 Championships, Robertson took home top spot in the men’s 3000 metre steeplechase. The Syracuse University student won in a time of 9 minutes and 4.77 seconds – a comfortable six seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. 

True to form for championship running, Sunday’s pace was far behind Robertson’s Club U23 record of 8:37.26. However, as the bell rang to signal the final lap of the competition Robertson took off, unleashing a powerful kick that produced a closing lap of less than 60 seconds that cemented his victory. 

Also seeing action in the steeplechase was Derek Strachan, who was competing in the U18 NACAC Championship being held alongside the U23 event. Unfortunately for the 17-year-old, he was just one of two entrants in the men’s 2000 metre steeplechase – rendering the event an exhibition. The Glebe Collegiate student finished the event in a time of 6 minutes and 26.97 seconds – three seconds behind Jean Carlos Soza of Nicaragua.

On Saturday, David Adeleye lined up in the finals of the U23 men’s 110 metre hurdles event. The University of Toronto student would finish fifth in a time of 14.13 seconds – about two-tenths off his Club U23 record.

Both Adeleye and Robertson are scheduled to return to action this weekend at the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, BC. You’ll be able to follow all the action at home on athleticscanada.tv or via live results on live.athletics.ca.

World Para Athletics Championships, Paris 2023. July 9 2023. Bianca BORGELLA (CAN), 100m T13 heats

Borgella wins bronze at World Para Athletics Championship

by Internationallinkinbio

On July 7, 2021 we got a sneak peak of what the future had in store. That Wednesday evening in Ottawa at a Twilight Meet, Bianca Borgella broke the Canadian T13 record in the women’s 100 metres. It was her first time racing the distance in a Lions uniform and was the first in a string of Canadian records for the University of Ottawa student.

Today, Borgella added another title to her growing track resume – World Championship medalist. The 20-year-old sprinter placed third in the T13 100 metres with a time of 12.16 seconds at the World Para Athletics Championship taking place in Paris, France this week. 

“I’m really happy with the result,” said Borgella of today’s run. “Not the time that I was expecting, but as it being my first world, I’m just happy that I’m able to experience it and take home a bronze in the end.”

Bianca had entered the Championship as a medal favourite with her Canadian record time of 12.12 seconds from earlier this season topping the world rankings prior to the Championship. 

She would be knocked out of that spot in the rankings in Sunday’s semi-final when Azerbaijan’s Lamiya Valiyeva took top spot in 11.89 seconds with Borgella close behind in a new Canadian record of 12.03 seconds. 

For Borgella, today’s result appears to be just another stepping stone on her journey in athletics. 

“All I can do is my best for that day and hopefully the next day just be stronger and keep training and work harder. And one day bring back a gold in the 100.”

Borgella will return to action at the Championships early on Tuesday as she is scheduled to compete in the T13 200 metre semi-finals at 4:14am Eastern time.

For results, visit the International Paralympic Committee page.

The championships can be live streamed on the IPC YouTube page.

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Four Lions named to Team Canada

by Internationallinkinbio

Summer plans for Derek Strachan, David Adeleye, Kevin Robertson, and John McGowan all now include a trip down south. The four gentlemen were included among the 57 athletes named by Athletics Canada’s to represent the red and white at the NACAC U18 and U23 Championships in Costa Rica as well as the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Strachan will be Canada’s lone steeplechaser at the NACAC U18 Championships. The Glebe student qualified by way of his personal best effort this past weekend at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships. A grade 11 student, Strachan placed fifth in the 2000 metre steeplechase event on Friday in a time of 6 minutes and 11.57 seconds. Strachan becomes the Club’s first steeplechaser to be named to a national Under-18 team.

Joining Strachan in Costa Rica will be Adeleye and Robertson. For both athletes, this will not be the first time either has donned the red and white in international competition, although it will be a first for each on the track. 

Adeleye, who will race the 110 metre hurdles in Costa Rica, is no stranger to international competition having represented Canada in 2019 as a member of the national Under-18 rugby squad. The University of Toronto student is coming off a strong indoor season that saw him set a new Club U23 record in the 60 metre hurdles. More recently, Adeleye dropped a personal best run of 13.92 seconds late last month at the Bob Vigars Classic.

The last time Kevin Robertson put on a Team Canada singlet he was battling difficult terrain at the Pan Am Cross Country Championships. This time, he’ll only have to contend with some barriers and a water pit as he lines up in the 3000 metre steeplechase. Robertson, a junior at Syracuse, is coming off an outstanding collegiate season where he earned All-American status following his 12th place finish at the NCAA Championships. In addition, Robertson set a new Club U23 record earlier this spring with an impressive 8:37.26 clocking.

Rounding out the list of national team members is John McGowan, who is headed to the island of Trinidad and Tobago to run the 100 metres at the Commonwealth Youth Games. A grade 11 student at St. Michael’s in Kemptville, McGowan qualified for the team by virtue of his winning 10.75 clocking at the East Regional High School Championship. McGowan, who had a best of 11.55 seconds entering the 2023 season, recently finished fifth at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships.

The NACAC U18/U23 Championships are scheduled for July 21-23 in San Jose while the Commonwealth Youth Games will run from August 4 to 11 in Port of Spain.

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Borgella starts season on top of the world

by Internationallinkinbio

Best in the world. That’s how Bianca Borgella kicked off her season yesterday. The University of Ottawa student blasted out of the blocks Saturday at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge to record a pair of new personal bests in both the 100 and 200 metres within the span of a couple of hours. 

In Louisiana as part of an Athletics Canada training camp, Borgella recorded times of 12.31 and 25.31 seconds respectively over the 100 and 200 metre events. While placing in the bottom half of the hotly contested Southeastern Conference fields, the 20-year-old’s performances now rank her among the best on the planet in the World Para Athletics T13 category.

Borgella has Leber congenital amuarosis, a term covering a group of inherited diseases that affect the retina during early childhood, causing severe vision loss or blindness. 

Since receiving her T13 classification in early 2021, Borgella has emerged as a dominant force in Canadian Para running, having re-written the national record book multiple times in every event from 100 through 400 metres. Saturday’s performances were both national record times, and also have Bianca ranked second globally in the T13 100 metres and in top spot on the planet in the T13 200 metres. 

While she leads the world at 200 metres, don’t expect to see her next summer at the Paralympic Games running the half lap event. The women’s T13 200 metres did not make the cut for next year’s Games, but don’t fret as we expect Bianca to be donning the red and white in both the 100 and 400 metre events. 

Before next year’s adventure, she’ll get a trial run at this summer’s World Para Athletics Championship – also to be held in Paris. 

OTTAWA - August 19, 2020: Liz Maguire at the fifth Ottawa Summer Twilight Series meet of 2020, held under COVID-19 protocols at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Lions enjoy weekend of road racing success

by InternationallinkinbioMastersNational

Monday was Patriot’s Day in the United States – a holiday celebrated on the third Monday of April commemorating some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. For running fans, it’s more commonly known as the day of the Boston Marathon. 

This year’s event in the Massachusetts capital featured a number of current and former Lions in action. Leading the contingent was Josh Cassidy, a mainstay at the event for more than a decade. The two-time Paralympian was 19th to cross the finish line on Boylston Street, stopping the clock in 1 hour 47 minutes and 2 seconds. 

While Monday’s result was Cassidy’s worst performance at Boston, he still managed to find the silver lining. “Coming down Boylston for the final stretch with the incredible support as always is emotional,” expressed Cassidy on Instagram following the race. “Even after a rough one, thousands of people patting you on the back, to say well done.”

The other two current Lions in Boston runners were a pair of masters runners – Liz Maguire and Rob Muir. Maguire finished Monday’s race in 3:18:16 to finish an impressive 10th among the women’s 55-59 age category. In the same age grouping, Muir finished 109th among the men with a time of 3:10:18.

In other road running action, Nicholas Pedersen and Jay Sneddon ventured their way across the country to take on the Vancouver Sun Run Sunday morning. Pedersen, who was battling a nagging injury heading into the race, posted a time of 33 minutes and 59.0 seconds to place 67th in the race of more than 25,000 runners. Nico was 9th in the men’s 19-24 category.

For Sneddon, the Sun Run is always a bit of a homecoming for the man who originally hails from nearby Tsawwassen. The 30-year-old cracked the top-100 as he crossed the line in a time of 34 minutes and 34.0 seconds to placed 84th overall. 

Closer to home masters runners Fritzlor Auguste and Gilles Frenette were in action at the Course Saint Laurent 5k in the Montreal suburb. Auguste, a silver medalist at last year’s Canadian Cross Country Championships, placed 45th overall with a time of 18 minutes and 36.0 seconds. Teammate Gilles Frenette was 58th across the line, stopping the clock at 19:12.0.

For updated Club Rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

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Lions have roaring success on track

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

While the outdoor season may be nearly a month old, it wasn’t too late for a few firsts for Lions athletes. For veteran 800 metre runner Stephen Evans, this weekend marked the first time he tried his hand at the 1500 metres. 

Since his debut with the Lions more than 12 years ago, Evans has run every distance between 60 and 1000 metres;  however, Friday marked the debut in the metric mile for the 26-year-old. Toeing the line at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational at the University of Florida, Evans completed three and three quarter laps in an impressive 3 minutes and 45.04 seconds. The time was good enough for eighth in the race and moved Evans to 16th on the Club’s all-time list. 

In a rare outdoor mile opportunity, Kevin Robertson made the most of it at the Friar Invitational in Rhode Island. The Syracuse junior placed fourth in a personal best time of 4 minutes and 2.08 seconds. Robertson had set his previous best of 4:06.28 in February. 

On the west coast, Keira Christie-Galloway continued her strong season at the Mt Sac Relays. The Grand Canyon University grad student placed fourth in the 100 metre hurdles with a time of 13.36 seconds on Friday. Keira currently ranks 26th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor performance list.

Joining Christie-Galloway at Mt Sac was fellow sprint hurdler David Adeleye who made his outdoor debut with a 14.30 second effort to finish 11th. Adeleye followed up on Friday’s effort with a 14.47 clocking the following day at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University where he placed seventh.

At his final home meet, Southeastern Louisiana graduate student Tommy Nedow took home top honours in the discus at the Strawberry Relays. Nedow’s top throw of 51.81 metres bested the rest of the field by more than six metres. 

Rounding out the Lions in action on the track were Joe Fast and Emily Brennan. Fast made his outdoor debut after pulling out of the 1000 metre final at the Ivy League indoor championship. The Princeton junior placed 28th in the 1500 metres at the Larry Ellis Invitational in 4:03.27. 

Brennan, who missed most of the indoor season due to injury, helped her Denison University teammates to a gold medal in the 4×400 metres at the Division III All-Ohio Championship.

Updated Club rankings can be found at https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

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Kyra Lauter wins bronze at Spartan Kids World Championship

by Internationallinkinbio

Not many athletes get the opportunity to say they won a medal at a world championship. Over the weekend, Lions runner Kyra Lauter got that opportunity, taking home a bronze medal from the Spartan Kids World Championship in Sebring, Florida.

The Franco-Ouest grade nine student placed third in the 12-14 year old category, completing the two mile course in 24 minutes and 23 seconds. The Spartan race is not your average cross country race though, incorporating between 15 and 20 obstacles for athletes to overcome such as rope climbing, spear throwing, and conquering a six foot wall on the way to the finish line. 

Kyra qualified for the World Championships after a pair of podium finishes in local races this past summer. First was a silver medal performance at the Ottawa Spartan Race in May followed by a victory in Mont-Tremblant a month later. 

The 14-year-old’s success in the Spartan Races is not unique among Club members. Reigning Canadian U20 3000 metre steeplechase silver medallist Louise Stonham won bronze in the same 12-14 age category at the 2019 Spartan Kids World Championships.

Lauter’s result in Florida marked the end to a very successful fall season in which she placed 56th in the novice girls race at the OFSAA Cross Country Championships and followed it up by being the Lions fifth scorer on the Ontario Champion U16 girls cross country team. 

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Shapiro and Manuel run for Canada at Maccabiah Games

by Internationallinkinbio

Representing Canada on the international stage is what many athletes dream of. For two Lions, Ben Shapiro and Alex Manuel, they had that opportunity late last month as they donned the red and white and competed in the 21st Maccabiah Games – a multisport games for athletes of the Jewish faith that takes place in the year following the Olympic Games in Israel. 

Shapiro was the busier of the two men taking to the line in all three sprints plus the relay events. The meet got off to a great start as Shapiro ran his way to a personal best time of 11.47 seconds to place sixth in the junior men’s 100 metres. He would follow that up with an all-conditions best in the 200 metres as he clocked a windy 23.84 seconds to place ninth overall.  

The future Western University student also helped Canada to fourth and fifth place finishes in the 4×100 and 4×400 metre relays respectively. 

For Manuel, the 100 metres also brought out the best in him as he finished fifth overall in the open men’s race with a new personal best time of 10.95 seconds. Alex added a second fifth place finish in the 200 metres, crossing the line in a season’s best of 22.73.

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Cassidy to carry flag at Commonwealth opening cermonies

by Internationallinkinbio

Commonwealth Sport Canada proudly announced Lions wheelchair racer Joshua Cassidy will be one of two athletes that will help usher the Canadian flag into Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on July 27 during the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Cassidy, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Games, will be joined in the honour by Olympic and Commonwealth weightlifting champion Maude Charron. 

“This is going take some time to sink in, but this opportunity is something that when you’re starting out as an athlete, to be a flag bearer for a games is always recognized as such a prestigious thing,” said Cassidy upon learning that he had been chosen. “What an honour and what a huge surprise. Thank you so much.”

Cassidy becomes just the second Lion to have the honour of being flag bearer for Canada at the Commonwealth Games. Hammer thrower Sultana Frizell carried the Canadian flag in the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Games in Glasgow.

(Langley, British Columbia ---25 June 2022) Lauren Gale competing on day four of the Canadian Track and Field Championships at McLeod Athletic Park. Photograph 2022 Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Gale finishes 26th in 200m; turns eye to 4×4 at World Championships

by Internationallinkinbio

It’s been a busy year for Lauren Gale. Since opening her season on the 15th of January, the 22-year-old had raced no less than 33 times before arriving here in Eugene for the World Championships. Two races in and she remains hungry for the next one. 

Gale was in tough Monday night in her heat of the 200 metres. Lined up to the outside of defending bronze medalist Mujinga Kambundji and world number two Abby Steiner, the Club record holder was fourth across the line in 23.08 seconds. Gale’s performance fell just short of qualifying on time as she finished 26th overall in the field of 44. 

“I’m very happy with my time considering I’ve been running for a while,” explained Gale following her race. “I’m happy to come fourth in my race behind such great competitors.”

Now the focus for Gale shifts to Canada’s 4×400 metre relay team, which begins their quest for a spot on the podium Saturday night. 

The Canadian women, including Gale as an alternate, finished an agonizing fourth last year in Tokyo – the second Olympics in a row. Heading into the weekend, the goal is simple, “I’m hoping Canada medals,” said Gale. 

“I think we’re got the talent to do so. I think all three other girls are very competitive and I think they are ready. 

The 4×400 metre heats go Saturday night at 8:10pm eastern and can be streamed live on CBC.ca