M_Bishop_Rio2016

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.

Tim_Nedow_Rio_2016

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.