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Three Lions athletes to represent Canada at Tokyo Olympics

by Internationallinkinbio

The Ottawa Lions are please to announce three Club members will represent Canada later this month at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. This morning, Athletics Canada, in conjunction with the Canadian Olympic Committee, confirmed Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Tim Nedow, and Lauren Gale will wear the red and white into the Japan National Stadium later this month.

This will be the third Games for Bishop-Nriagu who was 28th in London and 4th in Rio. As one of the faces of Team Canada heading into Tokyo, the 2015 World silver medalist is on the hunt for the Olympic medal she narrowly missed out on five years ago. “I’m really excited for these Games. I think the extra year really did us some good,” said Bishop-Nriagu, whose finish in Rio was the best by a Canadian in the event since 1928. “It’s going to be my third Olympic Games; I’m really looking forward to getting to Japan and being in the Olympic spirit. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve been able to experience that, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

For shot putter Tim Nedow, Tokyo will be his second Games experience following a 16th place finish in Rio. The Brockville native hit the Olympic standard in his first competition of the season, with a monstrous throw of 21.11 metres at a competition in Pennsylvania. With COVID-19 restrictions in place in Ontario and the standard in his pocket, Nedow decided to stay state side where he has competed sporadically and been focusing on his preparation for Tokyo. He took a similar approach in the lead up to the 2019 World Championships in Doha, where he placed ninth in the strongest competition in the history of the event.

The youngest member of Team Canada’s track and field team is 400 metre runner Lauren Gale. The 21-year old sprinter will be part of Canada’s 4×400 metre relay squad that was fourth five years ago in Rio and a finalist two years ago at the World Championships. Gale, who has been busy training since culminating her collegiate season at Colorado State University with a personal best 51.96 seconds, is the fourth fastest 400 metre runner in Canada this year, right behind Olympic teammate and Lion alum Alicia Brown, who will be participating in her second Games.

“I am unbelievably excited,” said Gale of her first Olympic team nomination. “It is so awesome to get to represent Canada on the biggest stage and run against my idols. I can’t wait [for the Games]!”

Leading the team will be Head Coach Glenroy Gilbert, who will be making his debut in the lead role. However, Gilbert is no stranger to Olympic competition, having represented Canada as an athlete five times (4 summer, 1 winter) and as relay coach in the previous four Games. In the press release from Athletics Canada, Gilbert praised the athletes for their resilience and unwavering commitment to see their Olympic dreams though under challenging circumstances. “Our team has shown a great deal of determination to get where we are today. When faced with adversity, these athletes rose to the occasion, performed on demand and made the most of every opportunity they were given,” said Gilbert. “Athletics Canada is fielding a strong team, with significant depth in a number of events. In Tokyo, I’m confident that they will be at their very best and will make Canada proud.”

Among Gilbert’s coaching staff is Lions 60 metre hurdles record holder Charles Allen, who will be making his second Olympic coaching appearance.

Competition in Tokyo gets under way the morning of July 30th (July 29th in Ottawa) with Melissa Bishop-Nriagu running in the heats of the 800 metres.

-With files from Athletics Canada

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Lions compete at NCAA Preliminaries; Gale lowers best again

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

The preliminary rounds of the NCAA outdoor championships took place this past weekend with the top 48 ranked athletes from each of the east and west regions fighting for a top 12 finish to advance to the finals in Eugene next month. Among the more than 3000 athletes competing were three Lions – Lauren Gale and Keira Christie-Galloway in the west and Tommy Nedow in the east.

Gale, a junior sprinter at Colorado State University narrowly missed earning a spot in Eugene despite a personal best 51.96 second clocking in the 400 metres. The performance placed the four-time Mountain West Conference Champion fourth in her heat and 13th overall. Saturday’s performance was just the latest in a string of personal best performances this year, dropping just over sevenths since the start of the season. “I’m very excited to be part of the 51 second club,” said Gale of her performance. “I ran my first 200 well and then just held on and pushed the rest of the way.”

With the new lifetime best performance, Gale ranks third among Canadian women in the 400 metres this year, and leaves her in a prime position to be selected to Canada’s 4×400 metre relay for the Tokyo Olympics. In preparation for a possible Olympic nomination, Gale has decided to forego the Canadian Championships in Montreal, and the required quarantine period, and will stay in Fort Collins, Colorado to continue training with her collegiate coach.

Staying in the west, Keira Christie-Galloway posted her fastest time of the season in the 100 metre hurdles. The Arizona State Sun Devil was clocked in a windy 13.36 seconds to finish fifth in her heat. The performance ranked the Glebe grad 29th overall, improving 19 spots on her seeding.

On the east coast, discus thrower Tommy Nedow could only manage a throw of 47.74 metres. The distance placed Nedow 38th overall.

Outside the collegiate ranks, Stephen Evans ran 1:51.48 for 800 metres to place 19th at the Portland Track Festival. Back in Florida, Farah Jacques ran a seasonal best in the 100 metre hurdles of 13.58 seconds in the heats of the Pure Summer Invitational . She would run 13.67 seconds in the final to place third overall.

Copyright Brian Rouble/Shuttered Moments

Cassidy wraps up Swiss Racing Series

by Internationallinkinbio

For many athletes, the COVID-19 pandemic has had immense implications on their ability to compete and ultimately try and find their way to this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Joshua Cassidy is no exception. While Cassidy had achieved the necessary qualification performance prior to the pandemic, the selection process for the Paralympic Games remains a fluid one, with Athletics Canada not nominating the team until July 21.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee will make the final declaration of team members on July 29th based on quota spots determined by the International Paralympic Committee.

For the three-time Paralympian, his recent trip to Switzerland for the Swiss Racing series marked just his second competitive opportunity since the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships and a chance to improve upon his qualification marks from 2019. While recognizing the risk of travel, Cassidy spoke about not wanting to have any regrets with respect to the Tokyo Games on video posted to Facebook earlier this month. “I obviously can’t just sit back and hope everything works out,” he said in reference to the possibility of his pre-pandemic marks qualifying him to the Games.

Across the set of meets in Nottwil and Arbon, the defending Canadian champion over 800, 1500, and 5000 metres was consistent in his performances – finishing between fifth and tenth in each competition. Cassidy’s fastest performance came in the 800 metres in Arbon last weekend where he rolled to a time of 1:34.83, a half second behind his best ranked performance in the event from 2019. The performance placed him sixth in the near global final like field.

While the weather was on occasion less than ideal for producing fast times, Cassidy was happy to get back on the track and race. “You monitor numbers in training to gauge where you are at, but it doesn’t compare to high level international competition,” he said in a post on Instagram yesterday. “It was good to just be in the pack, sharpen up, see where others are at, have some tactical races.”

While disappointed to not reach the podium on his Swiss Tour, Cassidy focused on the positives. “Definitely good to see where work needs to be done. Looking forward to the summer.”

Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat

Bishop-Nriagu smashes Club record in 1500 metres

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

Melissa Bishop-Nriagu concluded her US tour of meets on a high note Saturday, running a blazing time of four minutes and 4.42 seconds for 1500 metres at the Sound Running Track Meet in Irvine, California, to smash her personal best and Club record. The time was nearly a full five second improvement on her previous record of 4:09.36, set in 2019 and equaled earlier this spring, as well as being just 22 hundredths off the Olympic standard for the event.

The two time Olympian looked at home in Saturday’s race despite only running the distance six times over her career. As the gun went off, Bishop-Nriagu pushed right to the lead pack as they made their way around the oval at Crean Lutheren High School. With the field hitting the bell lap in about three minutes flat, the Eganville native found herself about eight tenths back in ninth place. However, she put her 800 metre speed to great use, producing the third fastest final lap, 63.51 seconds, to navigate her way up to fifth to finish just behind 2017 steeplechase World Champion, Emma Coburn.

On the collegiate side of things, Lauren Gale continued her winning ways in the 400 metres at the Mountain West Conference Championship. Fresh off Friday night’s Club record at 200 metres, the Colorado State junior put some of that speed to great use in the one lap race, running to a personal best 52.22 seconds. This was Gale’s fourth straight Mountain West title at 400 metres, having swept the indoor and outdoor titles as a freshman, and taking the victory indoors in 2020. Due to COVID-19, the conference did not host an outdoor championship in 2020 or an indoor championship in 2021. In her 200 metre final, Gale produced the third fastest time of her career, 23.77 seconds, to place sixth overall.

In other conference championship action, Tommy Nedow placed fourth in the Southland Conference shot put with a best of 16.16 metres. Nedow will wrap up his championship today with the discus throw, where he enters ranked second. At the PAC-12 Championships in Los Angeles, Keira Christie-Galloway just missed a spot in the 100 metre hurdle final, finishing ninth overall in 13.75 seconds.

(Montreal, Canada---26 July 2019) Melissa Bishop-Nriagu running in the 800m semi-finals at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Bishop-Nriagu hits standard; Nedow sets new discus best

by InternationallinkinbioNationalUniversity

A big weekend on the track and in the field produced a number of marks to celebrate for the Lions, highlighted by Melissa Bishop-Nriagu hitting the Olympic standard in the 800 metres and Tommy Nedow adding nearly two metres to his discus best.

After a disappointing race in Oregon two weeks prior, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu stepped onto the track in Chula Vista, California Sunday aiming to do one thing that had eluded her since stepping away three years ago to give birth to daughter Corinne – break two minutes for 800 metres. Beneath the two minute barrier was also the Olympic standard of 1:59.50 – a necessary step on the path to returning to the Olympic final and running for a medal. Bishop-Nriagu smashed both barriers, stopping the clock in a time of one minute and 59.04 seconds on her way to victory.

Pacing Sunday night’s race was 2019 World 1500 metre finalist Nikki Hiltz, who carried the pack through 600 metres in a speedy 1:27. From there, Bishop-Nriagu told CBC Sports, “it was about focusing on finishing strong and getting to that line in under 1:59.50.” Despite bettering the standard, the Eganville native’s ticket to Tokyo hasn’t been printed yet. “We still have a (potential) National Championship coming up where I will need to qualify. The depth in our women’s 800m in Canada is as strong as ever and we can only send three spots. This is not a given, this has to be worked for still,” she told followers on Instagram.
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Competing in a final tune up meet ahead of the Southland Conference Championships, scheduled for May 14-16, Tommy Nedow unleashed some big throws to move him to the top of the conference rankings. The Brockville native had a big break through in his primary event, the discus, whirling the two kilogram disc out to 53.74 metres to place second. Nedow’s throw added nearly two metres to his previous best set in 2019. Nedow also chalked up a personal best in the hammer throw, adding four metres to his previous best to finish third with 54.87 metres. He rounded out the competition of a 16.26 metre heave to place third in the shot put.

At the University of Kansas, Lauren Gale continued her winning ways in the 400 metres, crossing in 53.84 seconds. The Colorado State University junior battled some unusually strong winds, registering peaks of 8.1 metres per second in the adjacent triple jump, to stay undefeated in the one lap race this outdoor season.  She will look to continue the streak at the Mountain West Championships May 14-16, where she will also be looking to pick up her fourth conference 400 metre title in as many tries.

In other competitions, Stephen Evans placed fifth over 800 metres at the Kansas City Qualifier in 1:50.11. Down in Louisiana, Farah Jacques took ninth in the 100 metres hurdles at the LSU Alumni Invite with a 13.90 second clocking. Out west, fellow hurdler Keira Christie-Galloway finished fourth at the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Arizona with a time of 13.75 seconds.

 

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Bishop-Nriagu finishes fourth at Oregon Relays

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

What was intended to be a fast race, with runners aiming for the Olympic standard of 1:59.50, quickly turned into a tactical effort Saturday in the 800 metres at the Oregon Relays Grand Prix Event. It wasn’t the race Melissa Bishop-Nriagu was hoping for, but what she got was a fourth place finish, three tenths behind 2019 world silver medalist Raevyn Rogers, in two minutes and 4.18 seconds. With the mercury hovering around 14 degrees celsius and the rain falling down on the brand new Hayward Field, the field was quite content to let the pace setter run away from as they hit the bell in 62.6 seconds. As the medalists began to pull slightly ahead of Bishop-Nriagu in the final 200 metres, the Canadian record holder was not able to match their surge.

“I’m fuming after that display of a race,” she posted to Instagram afterwards. Her takeaway from Saturday’s effort boiled down to one word – trust. “I could list a handful of thing that I trust in this sport and at the top of the list is me. I have to trust me.”

At the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa it was a mixed bag for the brothers Tommy and Tim Nedow. Tommy, the younger of the two competed, recorded a seasonal best in the discus by hurling  the two kilogram platter out to 51.06 metres – just missing out on the final by one spot.  However, the shot put was not as kind to either of the Nedow men as they each failed to record a mark – Tommy in Friday’s university section and Tim in Saturday’s invitational section.

Elsewhere, sprint hurdler Keira Christie-Galloway placed fourth at a race in Phoenix, Arizona while Stephen Evans finished fifth in Atlanta. Christie-Galloway, a junior at Arizona State University, stopped the clock at 13.86 seconds in her first race back from injury while Evans clocked in at one minute and 52.48 seconds for 800 metres.

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Nedow hits Olympic Standard; Gale sets new bests

by InternationallinkinbioNationalUniversity

Just under two years ago, shot putter Tim Nedow heaved a 16 pound iron ball beyond the Olympic Qualifying standard of 21.10 metres at a competition in California. Unfortunately for the DePaul University graduate, the massive throw came 11 days before the start of the qualification period for the Tokyo games. Nedow rectified the situation this past Saturday afternoon at a competition in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania where he once again surpassed the Olympic Standard with his winning throw of 21.11 metres. The effort all but secures a spot for the 2019 World finalist to compete in Japan this August.

Another athlete vying for a spot in Tokyo this summer is sprinter Lauren Gale. The Colorado State University junior has been setting lifetime bests all over the track this season, picking up another two this past Saturday. Competing at the Colorado University Invitational in Boulder, Gale set new bests in both the 100 and 200 metre events en-route to victory. Gale led a Colorado State sweep of the 100 metre medals with her winning time of 11.67 seconds besting her previous best set back in 2018 by over four tenths of a second. Similarly, Gale trimmed nearly four tenths off her outdoor best over 200 metres with a winning time of 23.61 seconds. Both marks come on the heel of Gale’s school record performance of 52.24 seconds last week over 400 metres Her recent marks now put the 21 year old at #5, #4, and #2 in Club history for the 100, 200, and 400 metres respectively.

Also moving up in the Club’s all-time rankings was decathlete Ryan Thomsen who won the Hillsdale Invitational in Michigan with a score of 6486 points – moving to seventh in Club history. With top marks in both the long jump and shot put, Thomsen finished among the top three in nine of the ten events. For his efforts, Thomsen was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Track athlete of the week and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships.

Rounding out the weekend’s top performances was Tommy Nedow who captured gold in the discus and silver in the shot put at the Strawberry Relays in Louisiana. The Southeastern Louisiana University student’s best throws measured 50.33 metres in the discus and 16.20 metres in the shot put.

Farah Jacques OLY 4x1 heats2

Jacques named to World Relays 4×100 metre team

by Internationallinkinbio

Among the 24 athletes named to represent Canada at next month’s World Relays event in Chorzow, Poland was the familiar Farah Jacques. The 31-year old Jacques has been a mainstay in the relay program over the past five years. The event at Silesian Stadium May 1st and 2nd will mark the third straight appearance at the global relay championship for Jacques, who ran lead off for the 4×100 metre relay team at the 2017 event in Nassau, Bahamas and 2019 event in Yokohama, Japan. Jacques and the rest of Team Canada will prepare for the World Relays with a training camp on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge before travelling to Europe.

Coach Glenroy Gilbert will serve as head coach for Canada at the World Relays. Lion alums Alicia Brown (4x400m/Mixed 4x400m) and Shyvonne Roxborough (4x100m alternate) were also named to the team.

To read the full release from Athletics Canada, please click here.

Ottawa’s Maeliss Trapeau awaits the start of the 600m at the 2020 OUA Track and Field Championships in Toronto Ontario, Saturday, February 22, 2020. Mundo Sport Images/ Geoff Robins

2020 season ends with silver lining for Trapeau

by Internationallinkinbio

A little over six months after stepping off the track at the USports Championships in Edmonton, Maeliss Trapeau was back in  Championship form this past weekend in the 800 metres at the French Open and U23 Championships. While Trapeau stepped off the track in Albi with another fourth place finish, this one had a silver lining.

In a tactical final, Trapeau, coming of back to back personal bests, made a push for the medal podium with a surge with 250 metres to go. Despite entering the home stretch in bronze medal position, Trapeau was out kicked over the final 100 metres by Lena Kandissounon and was fourth across the line in a time of 2:05.79. However, Trapeau did receive the silver medal in the U23 category behind Kandissounon.

Despite the two fourth place finishes in these big championships, they have given her the motivation to work harder in the year ahead. “The pandemic situation taught me a lot on both the physical and mental aspects of my sport,” said Trapeau on Instagram. “I acquired new experiences which made me stronger, faster, and more confident in myself. I now have a clear idea of what I want and I will do everything possible to achieve it.”

(Ottawa, Canada---08 July 2017) Maeliss Trapeau competing in the U20 800m semi-finals at the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships. (Photo by Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Trapeau in top form ahead of French Championships

by InternationallinkinbioUncategorized

It was a week to remember for 800 metre specialist Maëliss Trapeau as the fourth year University of Ottawa student made her final preparations ahead of the French Championships, including back-to-back lifetime best performances.

Following a personal best time in the Lyon suburb of Decines on the final weekend in August, Trapeau made her Continental Tour debut Friday in Marseille with an impressive two minutes and 3.20 second clocking to finish seventh in the international calibre field.

Friday’s race was won by multiple world medalist Laura Muir of Scotland in 2:00.16.

Trapeau did her best to not let the strength of the field affect how she ran her race, as she maintained her focus despite hitting the bell at the back of the pack. “I knew that the girls were faster than me and that they were going to start really fast. Going threw in 60 seconds is perfect for me, so I wasn’t panicking,” said Trapeau after the race.

After hitting the 500 metre mark, Trapeau began her push towards to the line, picking of runners in the crowded 12 person field. “When it’s a big race like this I prefer to be at the back because I’m not surrounded by the girls and I can make a move whenever I want,” Trapeau said of her tactics.

The biotechnology student has not been surprised by her recent success on the track despite being sidelined at the beginning of August due to sickness. “Surprisingly, I got back on my feet quicker than expected and I managed to do a couple of great workouts. Therefore, doing those two PBs wasn’t a big surprise, I knew something good was going to come up from training hard, I just didn’t know when,” explained Trapeau over Instagram direct messages.

Trapeau’s previous best of 2:04.82 had been set back in 2018 when she qualified for the World U20 Championships at one of the Twilight Meets. Before getting sick, her single performance of the early season in July certainly indicated she was in prime shape as she opened the outdoor season with a 2:05.02 clocking.

Next up for the 20 year old will be the French Championships, which will take place this coming weekend in the town of Albi, an hours drive north-east of Toulouse. Trapeau enters the event ranked fourth and will open the competition with the 800 metre heats. The final will follow on Sunday afternoon.