OTTAWA, ON -- 08 July 2018: Saj Alhaddad racing in the 400m hurdles final at the 2018 Athletics Canada National Track and Field Championships held at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Lions ready to take on nation in Langley

by linkinbioNational

Over the Rockies to the lower mainland we go. Since Monday, Lions athletes have been making their way to the city Langley, a suburb on the far outskirts of Vancoucver to fight for national medals. It’s a first for many of these athletes, as the U20 contingent have been left without a championship since 2019. While a select number of athletes had the pleasure of competing at last year’s Olympic Trials, this is also the first taste of national level competition for many since before the pandemic. 

In total, 37Lions athletes will be fighting for a spot on the podium this weekend at McLeod Athletic Park, where action gets going today. Among the favourites are Lauren Gale and Josh Cassidy. Both athletes have already been named to Team Canada for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. It is anticipated Gale will also be named to the World Championship team, having bettered the 400 metre standard of 51.35 last month at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Gale, will also be among the medal favourites in the 200 metres, as she enters the competition with a season’s best and Club record of 22.82 seconds. 

Cassidy, a veteran of two Paralympic Games, will be looking to add to his large collection of national medals as he contests both the T54 800 and 1500 metres this week. Bouncing back from the Notwill Grand Prix in May where he failed to complete a race, Cassidy will be looking to find the form that saw him capture a trio of gold medals (800m/1500m/5000m) three years ago in Montreal.

Looking to find his way back on the national podium will be Saj Alhaddad in the 400 metres hurdles. The 30-year old has been a fixture in the national final for the past decade and enters the competition with the third fastest seed time. With already four Canadian medals to his name, look for Alhaddad to challenge his season’s best of 51.92 seconds set just two weeks ago at the Ontario Championships, where he ran to a silver medal. 

A triple medalist at the Ontario Championships, Tommy Nedow, will drop the hammer throw and focus his efforts on the shot put and discus this weekend in Langley. With a seed performance of 52.35 metres this season, Nedow is in a tight race to reclaim the bronze he won in 2019. In the shot put, the Southeastern Louisiana graduate will find himself in a tough battle for a medal in the shot put. Tommy enters the competition ranked 4th, but seeds three through six are all within 71  centimetres of each other. 

With Lions record holder Melissa Bishop-Nriagu not competing this season as she is pregnant with her second child, the women’s 800 metre gold is wide open. Hoping to find herself in the final mix is Sydney Smith. The University of Ottawa graduate student is coming off a new personal best of 2:05.35 set at the recent Ontario Championships and will be looking to secure herself a spot in the final where anything can happen. 

The men’s 800 metres will see Stephen Evans go after his first national medal. The former USports champion has found himself in multiple national finals in the past, but is still looking to make the breakthrough to that podium appearance. Evans appears primed for the task having set personal bests both indoors and out this season, was victorious in both Montreal and Guelph stops on the National Track Tour, the later included Evans’ first sub 1:48 run. 

A strong contingent of women will lead the U20 Lions into Langley. Elizabeth Vroom is the top seed entering the 3000 metre steeplechase following her Ontario Championship victory. Vroom, whose mark of 10:58.23  is nearly 15 seconds faster than the next entry, will be joined in the final by teammate Louise Stonham, who could also find herself on the podium. 

Training partners Amelia Van Brabant and Maddie Seaby will continue their season’s long duel at 3000 metres. The pair will enter the competition with the fourth and fifth fastest time respectively – an impressive feat for the two 17 year olds. . 

Finally, sprinter Katie Manor will look to turn a pair of provincial medals into national ones. . Manor produced a silver (100m) and gold (200m) and appears ready to elevate her running even further. Entering with personal bests of 11.94 seconds (100m) and 24.75 seconds (200m), the University of Ottawa student is ranked 6th and 9th respectively. 

Competition Schedule (All times in PST)

Thursday, June 23

09h30 U20 Heptathlon 100H Audrey Goddard
09h35 Open Heptathlon 100H Brooklyn McCormick
09h55 Open Women 400m Qualifying Helena Jovic/Doyin Ogunremi
10h55 U20 Men 100m Qualifying Seiyf Gebara/Luca Nicoletti
11h00 U20 Heptathlon High Jump Audrey Goddard
11h00 Open Heptathlon High Jump Brooklyn McCormick
11h10 Open Women 100m Qualifying Coralie Ostertag
11h25 Open Men 100m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
12h15 U20 Women 200m Qualifying Emma Martin
12h25 Open Women 200m Qualifying Doyin Ogunremi/Coralie Ostertag
12h45 Open Men 200m Qualifying Bertwin Ben-Smith/Michael Pinnock/Zach Bryant/Denzel Martineau
14h30 U20 Heptathlon Shot Put Audrey Goddard
14h30 Open Heptathlon Shot Put Brooklyn McCormick
16h45 Para Wheelchair 800m Final Josh Cassidy
17h00 U20 Heptathlon 200m Audrey Goddard
17h05 Open Heptathlon 200m Brooklyn McCormick

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Lions clinch U20 provincial title; hold narrow lead in Open Championship

by linkinbioProvincial

With a locked up U20 team title and a hand on the Open crown, the Ontario Championships would have to be considered a success for the Lions. A success that included For the second year in a row the Lions left the Ontario Championship with a U20 title with some hardware in tow, as they clinched the team title with an impressive 33 medals, including 12 gold. 

The U20 Lions clinched their second straight provincial title by amassing 208.5 points over the three day competition, nearly double last year’s winning score. While the U20 Championship will officially end late July with the hosting of the Combined Events Championship, the Lions’ 92 point lead over London Western is mathematically impossible to overcome. 

For the Open Championship, the Lions were able to put 166.5 points on the board to hold a 10.5 point lead over Royal City Athletics Club. However, it is London Western with 140.5 that poses the greatest threat to the Lions title hopes with multiple athletes likely to contest the Combined Events Championship. 

Setting the tone for the weekend were a trio of teenage steeplers in Gillian Porter, Zachary Sikka, and Elizabeth Vroom. Porter and Sikka each won their respective U20 events by more than 10 seconds, while Vroom moved up to the open 3000m steeple event to take silver in 10:58.23 – the second fastest time ever by a junior in Club history. 

Taking home an impressive three individual medals was thrower Tommy Nedow. The Brockville native produced gold medal efforts in both the discus (49.30m) and hammer throw (52.87m). 

Nedow’s gold in the discus completed a full set of medals in the open discus after bronze in 2018 and silver in 2019. As well, his hammer throw victory was the first by a male Lion since James Fahie’s victory in 1994 – four years before Nedow was born. 

Rounding out the medal haul on the weekend was a bronze in the shot put for Nedow, who produced a best throw of 15.49 metres on his final effort. 

Sprinter Katie Manor had a big weekend on the track that included three personal best performances, a silver medal, and her first provincial title. The University of Ottawa student started the championship off right by producing the fastest time in the U20 women’s 100 metre qualifying – a personal best of 11.94 seconds. She followed it up with a similarly fast 11.96 clocking in the final to place second.

Over 200 metres, Manor continued her strong running, clipping nearly four tenths off her personal best in the heats with a time of 24.90 seconds to lead qualifying. Not to be outdone, she followed it up in the finals with an impressive 24.75 second showing and a gold medal. So far this season, Manor has erased 1.3 seconds off her personal best.

Audrey Goddard added to the gold medal count with her victory in the U20 women’s 100 metre hurdles on Saturday. The 18 year old produced back-to-back personal bests in the heats and finals en-route to a narrow victory over Robyn Larkan of Toronto Racers (14.34  to 14.39). Goddard’s winning time moved her to eighth on the Club’s U20 all-time list. 

The final individual gold came from Sydney Smith in the open women’s 800 metres on Sunday. Competing in her first 800 of the season, Smith appeared well seasoned as she bided her time before a well timed kick for home in the final 100 metres sealed the victory for her. Smith’s winning time of 2:05.35 was a massive improvement over her previous best of 2:12.88 and moves her to seventh on the Club’s all-time list. 

Below is a complete list of medal winners from the weekend:

Gillian Porer – Gold (U20 Women 2000m Steeplechase)
Zachary Sikka – Gold (U20 Men 3000m Steeplechase)
Audrey Goddard – Gold (U20 Women 100m Hurdles)
Tommy Nedow – Gold (Open Men Discus)
Tommy Nedow – Gold (Open Men Hammer Throw)
Katie Manor – Gold (U20 Women 200m)
Sydney Smith – Gold (Open Women 800m)
Vanessa Lu Langley, Doyin Ogunremi, Paulina Procyk, Maria Okwechime – Gold (Open Women 4x100m)
Elizabeth Vroom, Gillian, Porter, Lauren Alexander, Freya Hurst – Gold (U20 Women 4x800m)
Brooklyn McCormick, Grace Munro, Olivia Baggley, Charlotte Murchison – Gold (Open Women 4x800m)
Helena Jovic, Alexandra Telford, Sydney Smith, Doyin Ogunremi – Gold (Open Women’s 4x400m)
Luca Nicoletti, Nolan Legare, Thomas Kukla-Colby, David Moulongou – Gold (U20 Men’s 4x400m)
Elizabeth Vroom – Silver (Open Women 3000m Steeplechase)
Maria Okwechime – Silver (Open Women Long Jump)
Katie Manor – Silver (U20 Women 100m)
Olivia Baggley – Silver (U20 Women 3000m)
Saj Alhaddad – Silver (Open Men 400m Hurdles)
Luca Nicoletti – Silver (U20 Men 200m)
Audrey Goddard, Mattson Strickler, Cora McQuinn, Bianca Borgella – Silver (U20 Women 4x100m)
Seiyf Gebara, Luca Nicoletti, David Moulongou, Leo Wallner – Silver (U20 Men 4x100m)
Fabrice Nonez, Saj Alhaddad, André Alie-Lamarche, Leewinchell Jean – Silver (Open Men’s 4x400m)
Coralie Ostertag, Kelly Brennan, Audrey Gilmour, Emily Brennan – Silver (Open Women’s 4x100m)
Mattson Strickler – Bronze (U20 Women 400m)
Alexandra Telford – Bronze (Open Women 400m)
Alexandra Telford – Bronze (Open Women 400m Hurdles)
Tommy Nedow – Bronze (Open Men Shot Put)
Emily Brennan – Bronze (U20 Women 400m Hurdles)
David Moulongoou – Bronze (U20 Men 400m Hurdles)
Elizabeth Moreland – Bronze (U20 Women Triple Jump)
Stephen Evans – Bronze (Open Men 800m)
Zachary Sikka, Jack Link, Kyle Porter, Nolan Legare – Bronze (U20 Men 4x800m)
Audrey Gilmour, Emily Brennan, Grace Munro, Mattson Stickler – Bronze (U20 Women 4x400m)
Brooklyn McCormick, Stephanie Leask, Sia Mahajan, Kelly Brennan – Bronze (Open Women’s 4x400m)

(York, Canada — 3 June 2022) L-R, William Bigler of Appleby College - Oakville, William Sanders of Mother Teresa - Ottawa, Chris Jackson of St. Mary's - Kitchener competing in the junior boys 400m final at the 2022 OFSAA Ontario High School Track and Field Championships held at the Toronto Track and Field Centre at York University. 2022 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Lions take home 14 medals from OFSAA Championships

by High SchoollinkinbioProvincial

For the high school athletes of the Ottawa Lions, it was a long two year hiatus, but they returned to the OFSAA Championships this past weekend in Toronto without missing a beat. In total, the athletes amassed 14 medals, including four golds, and one Canadian Interscholastic Record. 

The national record went to Elizabeth Vroom in the 2000 metre steeplechase as the grade 12 student won the event in a blistering six minutes and 52.19 seconds. Teammate Gillian Porter took home the silver in 7:01.47, while Louise Stonham placed 5th in 7:14.90.

The aptly named Vroom is a relative newcomer to the sport, having only joined the Club this past winter. The Sir Wilfred Laurier student has translated her successful playing time on the pitch with the Ottawa South United Soccer Club to the track quite well, setting meet records at every competition in the lead up to the OFSAA Championships. 

Vroom’s run now ranks as the second fastest U20 performance in Club history behind former Canadian record holder Danelle Woods.  

Also running to the top of the OFSAA podium this weekend were Vroom’s training partners Amelia Van Brabant and Maddie Seaby. The pair swept the top two spots in the women’s 3000m. Amelia Van Brabant took home the gold in a personal best nine minutes and 47.94 seconds, while Seaby followed behind in 9:55.43 – also a personal best. 

Vroom just missed a second OFSAA medal in the 3000, taking fourth in a personal best 10:03.51. Louise Stonham rounded out the group with her sixth place finish in a lifetime best of 10:09.13.

Mother Teresa student William Sanders continued his dominance of the junior boys 400 metres on Friday afternoon, capturing his first OFSAA gold medal in a personal best time of 51.51 seconds. Sanders, who had won every race prior to the provincial championships by nearly two seconds or more, took a hold of the lead at the 200 metre mark, and withstood the late charges from William Bigler to win by nearly a quarter of a second. 

Off the track, Kai Gibson captured the only other gold medal of the weekend in the novice boys high jump. The grade nine student from Longfields-Davidson Secondary School cleared 1.80 metres to claim top spot. Second place finisher Jeramiah Zomerman of Chatham Christian also cleared 1.80 metres, but Gibson took top spot by virtue of his first attempt clearance of the height. 

A complete list of all the medal winners from this year’s OFSAA Championship are included below.

Novice BoysKai GibsonLongfields-DavidsonHigh JumpGOLD – 1.80m
Junior BoysDustin ColdreyColonel ByShot PutBRONZE – 14.01m
Senior BoysConnor FraserImmaculataDiscusSILVER – 47.71m
Open GirlsElizabeth VroomSir Wilfred Laurier2000m SteeplechaseGOLD – 6:52.19
Open GirlsGillian PorterFrano-Cité2000m SteeplechaseSILVER – 7:01.47
Senior GirlsAudrey GoddardMerivale100m HurdlesSILVER – 13.99
Novice GirlsQuinn CoughlinOpeongo400mSILVER – 57.88
Senior BoysLuca NicolettiPaul-Desmarais110m HurdlesBRONZE – 14.14
Junior BoysWilliam SandersMother Teresa400mGOLD – 51.51
Novice BoysWill BatleyWest Carleton100mBRONZE – 11.38
Senior GirlsAmelia Van BrabantEarl of March3000mGOLD – 9:47.94
Senior GirlsMaddie SeabyCarleton Place3000mSILVER – 9:55.43
Senior BoysLuca NicolettiPaul-Desmarais400m HurdlesSILVER – 54.62
Novice GirlsQuinn CoughlinOpeongo800mSILVER – 2:18.14
Helena Jovic competes at the Bob Vigars Classic in London, Ontario, Sunday, May 29, 2022. Mundo Sport Images/ GEOFF ROBINS

Lions set bests and win medals at Bob Vigars Classic

by linkinbioNationalProvincial

The National Track and Field Tour rolled its way into southwestern Ontario for its third stop on Sunday at the Bob Vigars Classic in London. The largest outing of the early outdoor season for the Lions saw 20 athletes compete at Western University’s Alumni Stadium – pulling in a number of personal bests and six podium performances. 

Rachael Burrows captured the three Lions victoires Sunday, sweeping all three sprint events. The Paralympian rolled her way to victories over 100, 200, and 400 metres in times of 23.61, 46.75, and 1:34.52 respectively. 

Also on the sprint straightaway, Kathryn Manor and Bertwin Ben-Smith each produced lifetime bests to earn spots in their respective 100 metre elite finals. 

Manor, who just wrapped up her first year at the University of Ottawa, dipped under the 12-second barrier for the first time in her career in the heats to claim the eighth spot in the final with a time of 11.96 seconds. The time makes Manor the fourth fastest U20 woman in Club history. She would place eighth in the final with a time of 12.12.

Ben-Smith trimmed one one-hundredth of a second off his best in the heats as clocked in at 10.72 seconds. The University of Guelph graduate followed up in the final with an all-conditions equaling best of 10.68 seconds to finish sixth. 

David Moulongou and Sydney Smith, competing at 400 metres, also found their way on to the “PB train”. Moulongou trimmed five hundredths of a second off his best, crossing the line in 49.60 seconds on his way to a second place finish in the open section. Smith showed she was nothing if not consistent in her fourth place finish in the elite section. The University of Ottawa graduate student matched her best of 55.59 seconds set just two weeks prior in Ottawa. 

The other medal on the track came from Helena Jovic as she took home the bronze in the 400 metre hurdles. The University of Toronto student crossed the line in 1:03.55.

In the field, Emma Dobson-Takoff produced a best leap of 11.01 metres, just three centimetres off her best, in the triple jump to place third. Also in the horizontal jumps, Maria Okwechime exceeded her lifetime best with a windy 5.70 metre leap to finish just off the podium in fourth. 

(Ottawa, Canada---08 July 2017) Katarina Vlahovic, Keira Christie-Galloway competing in the U20 100m hurdle final at the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships. (Photo by Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Tough weekend for Lions at NCAA Preliminaries

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

A spot at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships was on the line this past weekend for three Lions athletes as they took part in regional events at the University of Indiana (East) and the University of Arkansas (West). 

Syracuse runner Kevin Robertson got the action started last Wednesday night in the 3000 metre steeplechase finishing 39th in the field of 48.  Racing in the second of three quarter final heats, the third year student was two seconds back of the leaders by the second pass of the finish line. With laps between 76 and 80 seconds, Robertson was unable to narrow the gap and finished in a time of nine minutes and 9.22 seconds. 

At McDonnell Field in Arkansas, Keira Christie-Galloway closed out her collegiate career Thursday night with a fourth place finish in her first round heat of the 100 metre hurdles. The Arizona State runner’s time of 13.52 seconds was a scant four hundredths of second outside of a qualifying spot. 

Lauren Gale looked primed to return to the NCAA Championships next month after comfortably winning her 400 metre heat at the West Preliminary on Thursday night. Running out of lane two, the six time Mountain West Conference 400 metre champion finished two tenths ahead of Baylor’s Kavia Francis in a time of 52.40. 

However, Gale’s fortunes were not as good yesterday in the quarter final. After narrowly missing qualifying in the 4×100 relay early in the session, Gale dropped out of the 400 metre quarter final almost immediately after the gun went off, according to the school’s press release. As a result she did not compete in the 4×400 relay.

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Michelle Atherley and Ken Mullings take home NACAC gold in Ottawa

by Internationallinkinbio

By: Pippa Norman

The final day of the NACAC Combined Events Championship came to a thunderous conclusion today, with American Michelle Atherley and Bahamian Ken Mullings walking away as Area Champions.

Finishing with 6029 points, Atherley described her second day of competition as being full of highs and lows. She said her results in long jump and javelin were close to her lowest marks this season, but she managed to stick to her goal of running under 2:12 in her 800m.

On her way to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon this summer with today’s first place finish, Atherley said for now, she’s excited to just relax.

“I’m looking forward to sleeping… I think my body really needs it,” she said. “I can’t wait to go home and see my friends.”

Fellow American Ashtin Mahler held second place for most of the day, before dropping out of the competition just before the 800m. In search of that World Championship qualifying score, Mahler decided to re-focus her energy into an upcoming World Combined Events Challenge competition in Spain.

Garnering a silver medal, Canadian Nicole Ostertag finished 228 points behind Atherley. Despite an afternoon scare in which Ostertag said she hit her javelin off her head, she still managed to pull out a personal best in every event and exceed her expectations.

“I’m really happy with that score,” said Ostertag of her personal best performance. “I didn’t come into this meet, thinking I could score that high. But I kept focused in each event and it ended up adding up.”

In the men’s decathlon, Bahamian Ken Mullings maintained his lead from day one, finishing with an overall score of 7537, a mere 197 points away from his personal best. Winning javelin was a highlight for Mullings, he said.

“Javelin was one of my weakest throwing events and now it’s getting up there with one of my strongest,” Mullings said.

He added that even without strong decathlon athletes such as Damien Warner or Lindon Victor present, Mullings’ victory still means a lot to him.

“At least now I can say I’m the champion of NACAC,” Mullings said. “I’m still happy because I got to win for the Bahamas.”

Finishing 1087 points behind Mullings, Canadian Shawn Beaudoin moved up in the standings today to snag a silver medal. Beaudoin said he struggled to return to the competition after over an hour delay due to lightning, but overall, he was happy with the consistency of his performance.

“It could have been a better score, for sure. But I’m happy to have won a medal,” he said.

Canadian Rostam Turner dropped from second to third place on day two of the competition, with an overall score of 6344. Finishing without a height in pole vault, Turner said he didn’t meet his expectations for the meet, but medalling was still important to him.

“It means a lot. It’s always a big deal, winning a medal at an international event,” Turner said.

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Combined event athletes descend on Canadian capital to vie for Area Championship and spot at World Championships

by Internationallinkinbio

By: Pippa Norman

A fierce competition is descending upon the Terry Fox Athletic Facility this weekend, as athletes from North America, Central America and the Caribbean arrive to compete in the NACAC Combined Events Championship.

Hosted by the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club, the two-day championship will feature women competing in the heptathlon and men competing in the decathlon.

Leading the American contingent are former NCAA Champions Ashtin Mahler and Michelle Atherley. The pair are coming off a 2-3 finish at last weekend’s USA Championships in Arkansas and looking to finalize their spot in this summer’s World Championships.

A win this weekend in Ottawa will provide either woman with an automatic World Championship qualification that comes from being an Area Champion. The other will be looking for valuable performance points to improve their world rankings and find their way in to the global top-24 ranking to secure a spot on Team USA for the upcoming championships.

Donning the maple leaf this weekend will be Team Canada athletes Nicole Ostertag, Rostam Turner, Maddison Lawrence and Shawn Beaudoin.

Ostertag, a university senior and member of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club, won silver in the indoor pentathlon at the 2020 U SPORTS championships. More recently, she garnered multiple PBs and a new personal best of 5443 points in the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational in California.

Coming off a heel injury that put Ostertag out of commission for close to a year, she said she’s excited for the chance to compete this weekend.

“Because I’ve been injured, I haven’t been able to train as much as I’d like,” Ostertag said. “But in the past month or so I’ve been able to do more training and get some technical work in, so I’m excited to put that practice to use in competition.”

Unlike Ostertag, who was named to Team Canada in April, this won’t be Turner’s first time representing Canada on an international stage. A member of the Okanagan Athletics Club, Turner competed for Canada at the 2017 Francophone Games, in addition to winning the heptathlon at the U SPORTS championships that same year. 

Representing Canada this weekend adds another layer of adrenaline to the competition, Turner said.

“It’s super exciting and fun to represent Canada,” Turner said. “I guess [there’s] a little more pressure, but I feel like sometimes it can be a good thing.”

Turner said his goal for the weekend is to take it one event at a time and put up a “big score at the end” for an overall personal best. Turner’s current personal best is 7601 points in decathlon.

Alysha Newman, two-time Olympic pole vaulter, is another Canadian athlete with something to prove this weekend. Newman recently added heptathlon to her skillset after a concussion last year forced her to take a break from pole vault.

“[The plan] wasn’t really to take [heptathlon] up, it was to stay in shape and get ready for when the doctors cleared me to pole vault again,” Newman said. “I happened to just end up falling in love with it and being pretty good at it.”

Heading into her first ever heptathlon competition, Newman said her goal is to finish an entire two days of competition with a score in every event.

“I just want to make sure I can get through the whole thing,” Newman said.

Competition kicks off Saturday morning at 10 a.m. tomorrow and concluded Sunday around 6 p.m.

(Guelph, Canada---07 June 2019) Stephen Evans competing in the 800m at the 2019 Speed River Inferno Track and Field Festival held at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. Copyright image 2019 Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Robertson, Evans, and Gale have big weekend south of the border

by InternationallinkinbioUniversity

Another stellar weekend of performances for the Lions south of the border this past weekend as Kevin Robertson set a big personal best for the second week in a row, Stephen Evans the best season opener of his career, and Lauren Gale ran the second fastest outdoor 400 of her life. 

Like we said just a week ago, all Kevin Robertson seems to do these days is run faster. The Syracuse junior skimmed more than four seconds off his previous 1500 metre best en route to a sixth place finish at the Virgina Grand Prix on Sunday with a time of 3:46.26.

Sunday’s run is just the latest in a series of personal best performances this season. Beginning all the way back in December of 2021 with a lifetime best in the 300 metres at Cornell, Robertson has run a personal best in every competition since with the exception of the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championship 3000, and that was only because he had obliterated his previous best in the event the meet before. 

On the other side of the continent, Stephen Evans produced the best opening run of his career as he took second at the Payton Jordan Invite 800 metres in California on Friday night. The former USport champion continued the strong running that saw him produce multiple indoor 800 bests as he crossed the line in 1 minute and 48.52 seconds – the second fastest performance of his life. 

Finally, Lauren Gale put on a show at the Fresno State Invitational. The Colorado State senior took top spot in the 400 metres with a time of 51.99 seconds. It was the closest matchup of the season for Gale with second place finisher Tiana Holmes of New Mexico State University finishing 69 hundredths of a second behind the 2021 Olympian. 

The pair will battle again in two weeks time as Gale looks to capture an unprecedented sixth straight Mountain West Conference 400 metre title (indoors and outdoors).

In addition to her individual success, Gale led the Rams 4×400 metre relay to a school record performance of 3:36.42. The mark is just one of six Colorado State records Gale now holds indoors and outdoors.

Presidents_corner_banner

President’s Corner – April 2022

by adminlinkinbio

Hi everyone – and Welcome to our first President’s Corner of 2022!

It’s been a minute since our last update. That’s because we’ve been working on some big things! As always, the goal of our President’s Corner is to give you a glimpse of what’s happening within the Club and behind the scenes, to inform you about what our Board of Directors is working on, and share what we discuss at our monthly meetings.

Before we get into that…

Congratulations to our varsity athletes who took part in the OUA, RSEQ and USport Championships.

  • University of Ottawa athletes picked up two medals at the OUA Championships and the Carleton Ravens brought home three more from RSEQ the same weekend.
  • Alex Telford had another podium finish at the USport Championships, finishing third in the 60m hurdles.
  • Several former Lions also competed at USport – and we enjoyed seeing the unofficial Club reunion take place online via social media and livestream.

We are so proud of all our varsity athletes, who overcame many challenges this season – from restrictions to a hiatus mid-season, and adjusting to new training facilities. Well done Lions!

And now for our regular programming…

At our April meeting of the Board of Directors, our Executive Director and Head Coach Richard Johnston reported that our Club has some exciting plans for the outdoor season. The season will be packed with exciting events, with Ottawa hosting the NACAC Combined Events Championship, high school East Regional championships, and Twilight Meets from May through to August. In addition, registration for our outdoor programs and spots are already filling up for our summer camps!

What else is going on?

Following our Annual General Meeting, which took place in February, the Board of Directors developed a strategic planning initiative that identified six key priorities to focus on for the 2022 year. Our goals for the coming year include:

  • Working with partners to continue strengthening our Safe Sport policies and practices;
  • Ensuring our amazing staff and passionate coaches have access to the resources they need to fulfil their responsibilities and succeed in their positions;
  • Understanding how to ensure consistent access to our principal training facilities in the city; and,
  • Reviewing our existing by-laws and policies to clarify vague processes and definitions.

We have already begun taking steps toward achieving some of these goals and we look forward to updating you on our progress

Our Board has also had lengthy discussions on vaccination policies and mask mandates, in light of the ongoing pandemic and changing public health guidelines. We expect all members to follow public health guidelines and to respect the rules and procedures of the facilities that we use. We also believe that members who want to continue to wear masks, in the absence of a mask mandate, can do so without fear of reprisal or discrimination.

But wait, there’s more!

ICYMI Board member and Club coach Gordon Cavé was named as Assistant Coach for the NACAC Senior Championships in the Bahamas this summer! Congratulations Gordon!

And, last but not, least, Jenn Dumoulin (our Club President) will be a panelist at the Sport for Life Summit (Ottawa Summit) taking place in May 2022.

We always welcome your feedback; you can reach us via the President’s email account (president@ottawalions.com) or through info@ottawalions.com.

That’s it for this month! Looking forward to seeing you on the track!

Jennifer Dumoulin

President, Board of Directors

Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club

president@ottawalions.com

(prepared jointly with Zeena Rashid, Secretary, Ottawa Lions Board of Directors)

Terry-Fox-Aerial_1440

Ottawa Lions set to host NACAC Combined Events Championship

by Internationallinkinbio

Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club are thrilled to be hosting the NACAC Combined Events Championship May 14-15, 2022. The event will bring together some of the best athletes in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean to compete in the two day heptathlon and decathlon events at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. 

The heptathlon and decathlon consist of seven and ten events respectively contested over two days. The women’s heptathlon begins with the 100 metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200 metres on day one and concludes with long jump, javelin, and 800 metres. The decathlon starts with the 100 metres, long jump, shot put, high jump, and 400 metres and concludes with the 110 metre hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 metres. 

Supported by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, this year’s championship event is the latest in a long line of major combined events competitions to be held in Ottawa. Most recently, the Ottawa Lions played host to the Pan American Combined Events Cup in 2018.

“After cancellations the last two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re really excited to bring international track and field back to Ottawa,” said Ottawa Lions Executive Director and Head Coach Richard Johnston.

“An event like the NACAC Championships is a great opportunity for the athletes competing, but is also a strong motivator for our younger athletes who have the opportunity to see first hand the level of performance required at that next level of competition.” 

This year’s NACAC event will serve as a valuable stepping stone for many athletes looking to qualify for future World Athletics Championships, including this year’s championship set for July in Eugene, OR. 

As an area championship, the event carries the World Athletics GL ranking designation, which will provide athletes up to 110 placing points to help further their world ranking score and qualify for global championships.

The Championship kicks off Saturday, May 14 at 10:00 am with the women in the 100 metre hurdles. The men begin 30 minutes later with the 100 metres.

For more information, visit www.nacacottawa22.com