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.
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.”
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.
