Josh Cassidy Rio

Cassidy inducted in to Toronto Wall of Honour

by linkinbioLocal

It was not something he was aiming for, but Josh Cassidy’s induction into the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour on Friday was a worthy distinction for the national team veteran. The Toronto Sport Hall of Honour celebrates the exceptional contributions and accomplishments of those who have inspired and/or brought recognition to Toronto through sport. Cassidy was one of 18 inductees in the 2022 Class.

The three time Paralympian was inducted as the Para Athlete of The Year for his achievements in 2019. During that season Cassidy took home the top spot at the Los Angeles Marathon despite breaking his chair less than 24 hours before the race, he placed sixth at the Tokyo Marathon, and swept the 800, 1500, and 5000 metre events at the Canadian Championships. 

“These sorts of things aren’t what you aim for, but deeply gratifying to be recognized for the whole journey,” said Cassidy of the induction.  “Through triumphs and defeats, for all the hard work, dedication and commitment to a lifetime of sport. It couldn’t happen without the coaches, therapists, and community of support.” 

(Ottawa, Canada --- 01 June 2022) David Moulongou competing at the Ottawa Summer Twilight Series Meet #2 . Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Rowat / Mundo Sport Images Please tag @mundosportimages if posting on social media

Lions put on show to remember at Canada Games

by linkinbioNational

Just five years ago, the Ottawa Lions had no athletes competing at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg. It was the first time it had happened in the 43 year history of the Club. As the athletics portion of this year’s Games in Niagara wrapped up this afternoon, only one thought comes to mind, “My how things have changed!”.

An impressive six current Lions donned the red and white of Team Ontario at the Games, combining to bring home five medals – equalling the total captured by the 2009 Lions in Charlottetown. 

The four days of competition at the new Canada Games Park in Thorold has been a bit of a coming out party for 400 metre hurdler David Moulongou. The University of Ottawa student, who was only introduced to the one lap hurdles race this year, put the country on notice with his silver medal in Friday’s final. 

Moulongou has proven he performs his best when it matters most this season. First he ran a personal best to win the trials and qualify for the team back in early July. On Friday, he chopped 1.99 seconds off the lifetime best to win his silver medal. David came into the Games with the goal to “finally be able to ‘click’ and showcase the talent that has remained ‘potential,’ as a result of being new to my event.” Two words – mission accomplished!

If one medal wasn’t enough for the 19-year-old Moulongou, he teamed up with fellow Lion and 400 metre hurdler, Luca Nicoletti, to help Team Ontario to a bronze in the 4×400 metre relay today. The pair ran the opening to legs, as Ontario finished in 3:11.90 – just 0.11 seconds behind Quebec. 

Another hurdler, David Adeleye, also put on a show when it mattered most. The University of Toronto student ran his third personal best in just over 10 days when he took home the silver in the 110 metre hurdles on Saturday afternoon. Adeleye’s time of 14.03 seconds took a full tenth of a second off his previous best, set at the final Twilight of the season and gets him closer to becoming only the third Lion to break the 14 second barrier. 

Before his individual glory though came team gold. Adeleye ran lead off for Ontario’s 4×100 metre relay team in the heats before being replaced in the final, where Ontario won by three tenths of a second over British Columbia. 

For thrower Tommy Nedow, the Games’ marked the end of a very long season that has seen the Brockville native compete more than 40 times this year. However, the 24-year-old managed to end his season with a pair of bronze medals as he took home bronze in both the shot put and discus. For good measure, he added a fifth place finish in the hammer throw as well. 

Sprinter Doyin Ogunremi competed right near her lifetime bests all week, but fell just short of the podium. After a fourth place finish in the open 400 metre found her just 35 hundredths off the podium, she was met with nearly the identical fate in the relay. Despite a strong 55.2 second anchor leg, Ogunremi was half step behind the Team BC runner as Ontario missed the podium by four tenths in 3:41.51.

While there was much success for current Lions on the track, the Club’s story at the Games does not end there. Team Ontario also featured two former Lions Madison McLean and Jonathan Rioux, while Will Cox represented Nova Scotia, where he is attending university. 

McLean had the perfect meet as she took top spot in the javelin and also set a new personal best of 47.84 metres in the process. On the track, Cox and Rioux battled it out in the 3000 metre steeplechase as the pair finished fifth and sixth respectively. The separation between the two – just two hundredths of a second.

Away from the track, current heptathlete Audrey Goddard is representing Ontario on the volleyball court. Goddard and her teammates are set to square off against Quebec on Sunday to determine fifth place in the tournament. 

Other former Lions in action in the Games included Lucy Hempstead, and sisters Amelia and Zoe Wojtyk. 

Hempstead, who gave up her sprint spikes for cycling shoes after the 2020 season, was champion in the time trial event and also placed sixth in the road race. 

The Wojtyk sisters didn’t have to move too far when they left track and field, switching to canoeing on the other side of Mooney’s Bay with the Rideau Canoe Club. The pair captured an impressive seven medals on the water. The pair teamed up for a silver in the C-2 1000m, and were both on the IC-4 200m and 500m boats that captured bronze. Individually, Zoe was the silver medalist in the C-1 5000m and also won bronze as part of the mixed C-2 500m. Amelia, who was a pole vaulter with the Club, paddled her way to a pair of silvers in the C-1 500 and 1000 metre events. 

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Lions set to compete in Canada Summer Games

by linkinbioNational

After a one year delay, the time has finally arrived. The athletics portion of the Canada Summer Games, a quadrennial multi-sport event that brings together the best summer sport athletes from across Canada, kicks off Tuesday morning at Canada Games Park in Thorold, Ont. The Lions will be represented by six current members during the four day competition, and they will be led by another three Lions coaches. 

David Adeleye, David Moulongou, Tom Nedow, Luca Nicoletti, Doyin Ogunremi, and Leo Wallner will don the red and white of Team Ontario, guided by head coach Leslie Estwick and two of her assistants Zach Quevillon and Amanda Fader. Two former Lions, Madison McLean (javelin) and Jonathan Rioux (3000m steeplechase) will also be representing Ontario at the Games. 

Wallner is the first to compete, starting day one of the two day decathlon at 9:25 am on Tuesday morning. The 18-year-old says his goal heading into the Games is to improve on his throwing events and hopefully make a run for the 6000 point barrier. Wallner had set a new personal best of 5689 points when he won the Trials in early July. 

Tuesday will also see a pair of 400 metre hurdlers in action in the form of Luca Nicoletti and David Moulongou. The pair finished third and fifth respectively at this year’s Canadian U20 Championships and have their eyes set squarely on running even faster on this new Canada Games Park track. 

While both are also expected to take part in relay events for Team Ontario, Moulongou has been offered another challenge at the Games – the 800 metres. While not having contested the event previously, the University of Ottawa student will toe the line in the heats Wednesday as the coaches believe his 400 metre speed (personal best 48.94) and his strength from the hurdles will be a solid combination to help Ontario score valuable team points. 

Tuesday will also feature the heats for the flat 400 metres for Doyin Ogunremi. The 19-year-old has been on a bit of a tear of late, having produced a wonderful lead off leg for the Lions’ Canadian Club record setting 4×400 metre at the national championships and followed that up with a massive lifetime best to win the trials back in early July. She’ll be looking to keep those feet moving fast to secure a spot in Friday’s final. 

Ogunremi will also contest the 200 metre heats on Wednesday, and is also expected to line up on the 4×400 metre relay team. 

If you’re looking for Tom Nedow, he’ll be out in the field throwing some heavy objects. The 24-year-old is one of the oldest members of team Ontario and one of its busiest as he will contest three of the four throwing events in Thorold. The national silver medalist will undoubtedly be a favourite in the discus when it gets started Tuesday afternoon. 

Nedow will contest the shot put on Wednesday, an event where he just set a new lifetime best of 17.61 metres less than two weeks ago. He’ll follow that up a couple hours later with the hammer throw, an event he won at this year’s Ontario Championships. 

Look for David Adeleye to be gunning for a spot on the podium in his speciality, the 110 metre hurdles when they get going on Wednesday. The University of Toronto student is coming off a pair of personal bests at our final Twilight last Wednesday and is primed to break the 14 second barrier in the right conditions. 

Away from the track, heptathlete Audrey Goddard will be jumping with a slightly different purpose as she spike her way to a medal as part of Ontario’s volleyball team. The multi-sport talent, who also plays for the Ottawa Fusion Volleyball Club, will put her six foot tall stature and bouncy step to great use as outside attacker. Goddard and Team Ontario kick off round robin play on Tuesday against Nova Scotia. 

Tuesday will also be the first day of action for Lucy Hempstead as she competes in the cycling time trial event – a strong suit for the former 400 metre hurdler. Hempstead, who made the transition from the track to road cycling after a strong performance at the RBC Training Ground, has stated her goals for the Games are to “win the time trial and position myself well in the road race.”

Below is a schedule of events for Lions athletes on the track and in the field.

Tuesday, August 16

09h25    Decathlon 100m (Leo Wallner)
10h15    Decathlon Long Jump (Leo Wallner)
10h40    Men’s 400m Hurdle Heats (Luca Nicoletti/David Moulongou)
12h30    Decathlon Shot Put (Leo Wallner)
14h30    Decathlon High Jump (Leo Wallner)
15h10    Women’s 400m Heats (Doyin Ogunremi)
16h00    Men’s Discus Qualifying (Tom Nedow)
17h20    Decathlon 400m (Leo Wallner)

Wednesday, August 17        

09h00    Decathlon 110m Hurdles (Leo Wallner)
09h30    Men’s Shot Put Qualifying (Tom Nedow)
10h15    Decathlon Discus (Leo Wallner)
10h20    Women’s 200m Heats (Doyin Ogunremi)
11h15    Men’s 800m heats (David Moulongou)
12h20    Decathlon Pole Vault (Leo Wallner)
14h55    Men’s 110m Hurdle Heats (David Adeleye)
15h15    Decathlon Javelin (Leo Wallner)
16h30    Men’s Hammer Throw Qualifying (Tom Nedow)
16h35    Men’s 4x400m Heats (Luca Nicoletti/David Moulongou)
17h05    Women’s 4x400m Heats (Doyin Ogunremi)
17h50    Decathlon 1500m (Leo Wallner)

Friday, August 19

11h15    Men’s 400m Consolation Final (David Moulongou*)
11h25    Women’s 400m Consolation Final (Doyin Ogunremi*)
11h35    Men’s 400m Final (David Moulongou*)
11h45    Women’s 400m Final (Doyin Ogunremi*)
13h15    Men’s Hammer Final (Tom Nedow*)
15h00    Men’s Shot Put Final (Tom Nedow*)
16h45    Men’s 400m Hurdle Consolation Final (Luca Nicoletti/David Moulongou*)
17h15    Men’s 400m Hurdle Final (Luca Nicoletti/David Moulongou*)

Saturday, August 20

09h00    Men’s Discus Final (Tom Nedow*)
09h05    Women’s 200m Consolation Final (Doyin Ogunremi*)
09h25    Women’s 200m Final (Doyin Ogunremi*)
10h50    Men’s 800m Consolation Final (David Moulongou*)
11h10    Men’s 800m Final (David Moulongou*)
11h45    Men’s 110m Hurdle Consolation Final (David Adeleye*)
11h50    Men’s 110m Hurdle Final (David Adeleye*)
16h05    Men’s 4x400m Final (Luca Nicoletti/David Moulongou*)
16h15    Women’s 4x400m Final (Doyin Ogunremi*)

*pending qualification

For results, visit Windsor Timing.

For Live Streaming, visit https://niagara2022games.ca/

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Ottawa to host 2025 and 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships

by linkinbioLocalNational

The Canadian Track and Field Championships are coming back to the nation’s capital. Athletics Canada announced today that the 2025 and 2026 editions will be held in Ottawa at Terry Fox Athletic Park, site of the 2017 and 2018 editions.

“We’re pleased to return to Ottawa, the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Canadian Track and Field Championships were some of the best editions ever staged,” said Mathieu Gentès, Chief Executive Officer, Athletics Canada. “Spectator attendance, grassroots integration, and a first-rate sport and entertainment experience were major focus points, the Athletics Canada team looks forward to working with the Ottawa Lions and national and local partners to springboard off those 2017 and 2018 success stories.”

The Canadian Track and Field Championships serve as the national championship for U20, Open and Para Athletics categories. The 2025 edition will serve as World Trials for the 2025 World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo, Japan.

“The Ottawa Lions look forward to working with Athletics Canada and the City of Ottawa to bring another exciting set of Championship meets to the nation’s capital in 2025 and 2026,” said Richard Johnston, Executive Director, Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club. “The expansive Ottawa Lions Track and Field programs and partners in the community, will be vital to the volunteer base and operations, while serving as a great platform to incorporate grassroots programming into the event, attract a new fan base and create a memorable experience for those competing and those attending.”

Earlier this summer, Athletics Canada announced that the 2024 Bell Olympic and Paralympic Track and Field Trials will take place in Montreal. The 2023 edition of the event is set for Langley, British-Columbia, July 27 – 30.

OTTAWA - July 14, 2021: Kimberley Howitt competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight #11 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Lions win 13 medals at Ontario Masters Championship

by linkinbioProvincial

The height of the season for many of our masters athletes took place this past weekend at the Ontario Masters Championships. Competing against the province’s best, Lions athletes managed to bring home an impressive 13 medals including a staggering 10 golds. 

A quartet of athletes managed to win a pair of gold medals on the weekend. 

Completing one of the more rare track doubles, Kimberley Howitt took top spot in both the 200 and 800 metre events. The 38-year old won the W35 800 in a time of 2:27.23 on Sunday before coming back later in the day to win the 200 in 29.96 seconds.

Joining Howitt as a double gold medalist on the track was Jodi Molstad. The 48-year-old Molstad found herself atop the podium in both the 200 and 400 metres events, winning in times of 31.31 and 1:14.12 respectively. Molstad fell just short of the sprinting trifecta as she took the silver over 100 metres in 14.62 seconds – just over a tenth of second back from the winner Mavis Ayippey of Jamcan International. 

In the field, Club founder Bob Stavely returned to his winning ways in both the shot put and javelin. Stavely, who was a pole vaulter in his younger years, has been a strong force in masters throwing over the past 20 plus years – particularly in the javelin, where he won the M85 competition Sunday with a throw of 15.85 metres. 

As a show of strength, the 88-year-old’s mark would have also been good enough to win the M80 category. 

Also picking up the throws double was Sam Walls, who completed the much more conventional shot put/discus double. The 48-year-old Walls heaved the 16 pound shot put out to 11.60 metres, besting the field by four and a half metres. In the discus, Walls nearly doubled the second place finisher with his 37.75 metre throw. 

The other two golds came over 800 metres where Michael Conway and Gilles Frenette took top spot in the M35 and M45 categories respectively. Conway’s time of 2:06.97 was nearly 22 seconds faster than second place, while Frenette’s 2:18.80 was good for a more than four second margin of victory. 

Danette Nearing-Guibord garnered silver medals in both the W60 100 and 200 metre events.

OTTAWA - August 4, 2021: Louise Stonham competing in the 2000m steeplechase at Ottawa Summer Twilight #14 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. Photograph Copyright 2001 Miles Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Lions wrap up Legion Nationals with four medals on final day

by linkinbioNational

Closing out a successful Royal Canadian Legion Championship on Sunday, the Ottawa Lions added four more medals to their tally – bringing the total to nine over the three day Canadian Championship. 

For the third straight day, Will Batley found his way to the podium as he picked up a silver in the U16 boys 200 metres following gold in both the 100 metres and 4×100 metre relays. The soon to be grade 10 student at West Carleton Secondary School battled a 2.7 metres per second head wind as he crossed the line in 23.60 seconds – 0.44 seconds behind winner Dominik Bahadur of Laurel Creek. 

Mason Brennan, a member of the gold medal winning U16 boys 4×100 metre relay, won his first individual medal of the championship – a silver in the 200 metre hurdles. The Colonel By student finished in 27.45 seconds, well off his best as the competitors also battled headwinds of 3.0 metres per second. Teammate Zach Jeggo placed 6th in a time of 29.11 seconds. 

Steeplechaser Louise Stonham was the third athlete across the line in the U18 girls 2000 metre steeplechase, but for a while it was not clear she would be the one standing on the podium. The Arnprior District High School student finished in 7:04.19, but was initially disqualified for a suspected lane violation that was overturned on appeal. Stonham’s bronze medal caps quite a year for the soon to be grade 12 student as she now holds a full set of medals from season after a team gold in cross country and silver at the U20 Championships in the 3000 metre steeplechase. 

The final medal of the weekend came from the final event – the U18 boys 4×400 metre relay. With U16 athlete Timeo Afonto being recruited to run lead off, the team of Atonfo, Eric Zielonka, William Sanders, and Nolan Legare ran an impressive 3:26.35 to take the bronze behind British Columbia and Alberta. The quartet’s time is the third fastest U18 time in Club history. 

Just missing out on the podium in the U16 girls 800 metres was Quinn Coughlin. The Opeongo student ran a personal best time of 2:17.54 to finish fourth. Lauren Alexander posted a 2:17.44 to place seventh in the U18 girls 800, while Matteo Padoin-Castillo was eighth in the U16 boys 1500 metre steeplechase with his 4:59.67 clocking. 

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Lions relay wins Canadian Championship in record time

by linkinbioNational

The second day of competition at the 2022 Royal Canadian Legion Championships saw the Lions add another two medals to the haul, bringing the total to five, including a national championship for the U16 boys 4×100 metre relay team. 

For the second day in a row Will Batley was crowned national champion as the Canadian 100 metre champion anchored the quartet of Timeo Afonto, Mason Brennan, and Zach Jeggo to victory in the U16 4×100 metre relay. The Lions narrowly edged out Team Quebec for top spot, crossing the line in 45.26 seconds, just four hundredths ahead of their provincial opponents. The winning time also bests the previous Club age class record of 45.54 set back in 2008 by Cameron Smithers, Eric Leclerc, Devin Biocchi, and Brian Okeny. 

Afonto, Jeggo, and Batley nearly made the podium again a few races later in the sprint medley. Teamed with Saul Taler, the quartet placed fourth in a time of 3:49.23. They were the top placing club in the event, beaten only by provincial team entries from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec. 

Also picking up a second medal on day two was Kai Gibson as the Longfields Davidson student took the silver in the U16 boys high jump. Gibson cleared 1.79 metres, just a centimetre below his OFSAA winning best of 1.80 metres. Teammate Mason Brennan finished eighth with a clearance of 1.65 metres.

Registering top eight individual finishes on day two of competition included Zach Jeggo (5th U16 boys 300m), Nolan Legare (6th U18 boys 400m), Amelia Van Brabant (5th U18 girls 3000m), and Quinn Coughlin (7th U16 girls 300m). 

(Ottawa, Canada --- 08 June 2022) Will Batley competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight Meet #3 Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Rowat / Mundo Sport Images Please tag @mundosportimages if posting on social media

Lions kick off Legion Nationals with full set of medals

by linkinbioNational

After a two year absence, the Royal Canadian Legion Championships kicked off Friday morning in Sherbrooke with 25 Lions athletes set to compete over the three day competition. The pride came in with gusto, picking up a full set of medals and six top 10 performances.

Will Batley was crowned Canada’s fastest 15 year old Friday as he captured gold in the U16 boys 100 metre race in a time of 11.39 seconds. Battling a head wind of 1.7 metres per second, the West Carleton Secondary School student’s time was just one one hundredth of a second off his personal best set at the OFSAA Championships back in June. 

With his victory, Batley becomes the first Lion to win the U16 100 metre gold in 20 years, and just the third all time – joining Olympian Oluseyi Smith (2002) and Matthew Stenson (1994).

Next on the podium was Kai Gibson, as he hoped, skipped, and jumped his way to a silver medal in the U16 boys triple jump. The reigning OFSAA high jump champion used his bouncy feet to bound his way out to a personal best distance of 12.60 metres on his first jump. Proving it was no fluke, he followed it up with a jump of 12.59 metres on his final attempt. 

Similarly to Batley, Gibson’s medal was the first for a Lion in the event since 1979 when future Olympian and Lions Hall of Fame member Brian Marshall also took home the silver medal. 

Rounding out the podium performances was Timeo Atonfo who nabbed himself a bronze in the U16 boys 100 metre hurdles. Atonfo, a silver medalist last weekend over the 200 metre hurdles at the Ontario Championships, finished in a personal best time of 14.26 seconds, just three one hundredths behind second. Atonfo’s teammates Mason Brennan and Zach Jeggo finished fifth and sixth respectively. 

Rounding out the top-10 finishes was Adelle MacLeod, who placed ninth in the U18 girls long jump with a distance of 4.88 metres. 

For live results, visit: https://chrono-v.ca/220805

Live streaming: athleticscanada.tv

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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.

(Ottawa, Canada---22 June 2022) Zach Jeggo competing in Ottawa Summer Twilight Meet 5 or the 2022 track and field season. Copyright 2022 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Jeggo and Coughlin bring home hardware from Ontario Summer Games

by linkinbioProvincial

The Ontario Summer Games, an annual multi-sport event for athletes between the ages of 12 and 18, kicked off last Thursday in Mississauga. The Lions were represented in the athletics competition by three athletes – Quinn Coughlin, Zachary Jeggo, and Matteo Padoin-Castillo. Combined the three athletes captured four individual medals including one gold. 

Jeggo had a near perfect meet as he set new lifetime bests in all three of the events he competed in. This included a gold medal performance in the 200 metre hurdles where Jegoo broke Luca Nicolletti’s U16 Club record with his time of 26.34 seconds. The Louis-Riel student picked up a second medal, a bronze, in the U16 300 metres with his time of 37.57 seconds. 

Jeggo’s final best came in the 200 metre heats where he posted a time of 23.74 seconds. He would finish seventh in the final in 23.91.

The other two medals came from Quinn Coughlin who took home a pair of bronze medals. The first came in the 300 metre event for Coughlin where she trimmed nearly half a second off her previous best with a 41.98 second clocking. Another personal best brought home the second medal as the Opeongo High School student dipped under 2:18 for the first time at 800 metres, to finish in two minutes and 17.92 seconds. 

For Matteo, his results found him just off the podium as he took fourth in the U16 1500 metre steeplechase. His time of 4:58.08 was about a second and a half back of bronze. Padoin-Castillo also part in his first racewalk, finishing ninth in the 1500 metre event.