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Lions mourn loss of former athlete Steve Nkusi

by linkinbioLocal

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of former Lions high jumper Steve Nkusi Saturday evening. While only with the Club for a short four years, the man known for an infectious smile made a significant impact on everyone who had the pleasure to cross paths with him.

The 24-year old had joined the Club after being recruited by then University of Ottawa Gees Gees team manager Noah Houlton. “Steve was single handedly the nicest individual a friend and team manager could expect. His smile and positive attitude was uncanny,” said Houlton fondly. “When I saw him clear 2 metres in high school with no training and in basketball shorts, I knew he was special. An exceptional human being is what he really was.”

While Nkusi excelled in the high jump, reaching a best of 2.10 metres, winning Canadian Under-20 gold, and representing Canada at the Pan American Under-20 Championships, he was successful in many avenues. After just receiving his Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance the University of Ottawa this June, Nkusi was already tackling his newest challenge – modelling, even landing roles in two films.

The Lions would like to extend its deepest sympathies and condolences to Steve’s family and friends. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers.

For those interested in supporting Steve’s family, a GoFundMe has been organized.

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 finish second in province for second week in a row

by linkinbioProvincial

It was deja vu all over again for Lions coaches this past weekend as they witnessed another provincial title fall just out of their grasp as the Under-18 team placed second at the Ontario Championships despite garnering eight medals – including three gold.  Like it did for the senior athletes, the title was decided in the final event, the men’s 4×400 metre relay, with the Lions placing fourth and coming up two points shy of London Western’s winning total of 116 points. In the three provincial championships held so far this summer, the margin of victory has been two points or less.

The women’s 4×800 metre relay winning team of Louise Stoneham, Gillian Porter, Koree Yach, and Amelia Van Brabant combined for a massive 46 of the Lions 114 point total. The quartet finished five seconds clear of second place in a time of nine minutes and 46.21 seconds – good enough for fifth on the Club’s age group rankings. Individually, Stoneham and Porter took the top two spots in the 2000 metre steeplechase, both in personal best efforts, finishing in times of 7:21.78 and 7:29.90 respectively.

Stoneham picked up five more points with her fourth place finish in the 3000 metres as Van Brabant nabbed a silver in the second best performance of her life – 10:05.40. Van Brabant, who has seen significant improvements across all her events this summer also nabbed a new personal best at 1500 metres, 4:39.85, to pick up a fourth place finish at five more team points.

The other gold medal of the weekend came from Adriano Padoin-Castillo as he took top honours in the steeplechase. The Immaculata High School student trimmed more than half a minute off his previous best to cross the line in six minutes and 36.87 seconds – just a fraction of a second ahead of Laurel Creek’s Nathan Paul. Padoin-Castillo also ran the lead leg of the 4×800 metre relay that place fourth.

Other individual medals came from Thomas Kukla-Colby and Audrey Goddard, who each took home bronze. Kukla-Colby set a new best of 56.63 seconds over the 400 metre hurdles for his third place finish, while Goddard cleared 1.45 metres for third in the high jump.

The women’s 4×100 and 4×400 metre relay teams picked up the final two bronze’s of the weekend.

Click here for full results.

(Ottawa, Canada---08 July 2017) Lauren Gale competing in the U20 400m final at the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships. (Photo by Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images).

Olympic Profile – Lauren Gale

by Internationallinkinbio

As we get set to enter Day 7 of competition at the Olympic Stadium we wanted to help introduce you to the third and final Lion competing this year in Tokyo – Lauren Gale.

At 21 years of age, Gale is the youngest member of the Canadian athletics team in Japan and is expected to run as part of Canada’s 4×400 metre relay team in Thursday morning’s heats.

The Colorado State University record holder set a lifetime best of 51.96 seconds over 400 metres at the NCAA West Regional back in May to qualify for Team Canada. The mark is the second fastest in Club history. Gale set the Club record over the 200 metres as well this year with her 23.15 second clocking at the Mountain West Conference Championships.

We had a chance to connect with Olympian Lauren Gale prior to the start of the Games and ask her a few questions to help you get to know her a little better.

Q: How did you get started in track and field?

Gale: I was always super speedy when I was playing soccer. I always got to the ball first. So we tried switching into running and it took off from there! It didn’t really start being competitive until I joined the Lions!

Q: Name your favourite place to compete.
Gale: My favourite place to compete was the Bahamas, who wouldn’t love it there! All the teams got to stay in the same hotel on different floors and it was a great environment, lots of fun!
Q: What drill or exercise do you enjoy the most?
Gale: I love doing band + block. It really helps me with my block starts and I am able to focus on form.
Q: If you could do any other event in track and field, which would you choose?
Gale: I would love to do long or triple jump. I think getting to be so explosive and landing in sand would be fun!
Q: What is your go to pre-competition meal?
Gale:  I usually have something protein filled with lots of veggies and fruit!
Q: What is in your warm-up playlist?
Gale: I usually go with rap.
Q: What are you binging on Netflix right now?
Gale: It’s always HGTV. I love the home renovation shows!
Q: What book are you reading/most recently read?
Gale: I have been reading my HDFS 350 (Applied Research Methods) textbook! I’m taking a summer class so that’s what has been taking up most of my time recently.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most about competing in your first Olympics?
Gale: I think just getting to take in the atmosphere even though it might be a little different this year. Getting to be surrounded by and competing against amazing athletes will be a great experience. Getting to see the Athlete village with the Olympic Rings everywhere is gonna be awesome too!

The women’s 4×400 metre heats are scheduled for 6:25 am EDT Thursday morning. Canada will run in the second of two heats. The top three plus the next two fastest times will qualify to Saturday’s final.

For more information on Tokyo 2020 and links to results and the live stream, check out our Tokyo Olympic Hub.

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

Lions finish second at Ontario Open Championships

by linkinbioProvincial

For the second time in two weeks, the Lions found themselves in a tight battle for the team title at the provincial championship. As is known to be the case, the team title was decided in the final event – the men’s 4×400 metre relay, where the Lions entered tied with Royal City Track Club from Guelph at 103 points. However. Royal City’s one second victory gave them the overall crown with the quartet of Luca Nicoletti, Leewinchell Jean, Fabrice Nonez, and David Moulongou grabbing silver – one of 12 medals for the Lions over the weekend.

The one of the most decorated athletes of the Championship was Alexandra Telford, who took home a total of three medals, including two gold. While earning relay medals in her teenage years, the 25-year-old took home her first individual provincial medal Saturday as she ran away with gold in the 400 metres. Running just off her personal best, Telford finished in 55.85 seconds, nearly a second ahead of silver. Teammate Helana Jovic also picked up a bronze in the race.

Telford would set a new lifetime best Sunday in the 400 metre hurdles, placing third in 1:00.35 to move to ninth on the Club’s all-time list. Jovic would finish three spots back in sixth with 1:02.50. The pair would teamed up with Doyin Ogunremi and Madison Clarke to take the gold in both the 4×400 metre relay.

Bianca Borgella also took home a trio of golds as she captured both the para ambulatory 100 and 400 metres. The latter in a new Canadian T13 record of 1:04.30. The 18-year-old just missed her Canadian record in the 100 metres with her 12.76 clocking. Borgella also helped anchor the 4×100 metre relay team of Vanessa Lu Langley, Doyin Ogunremi, and Kelly Brennan to gold in thee 4×100 metres.

Topping the podium in the 3000 metre steeplechase was Nicholas Pedersen who was making his debut at the distance. The 21-year-old had not run the steeplechase since placing sixth at the 2018 OFSAA Championships over the 2000 metre distance. Pedersen’s time of nine minutes and 44.80 seconds was more than a minute ahead of silver and moves him to 16th best in Club history.

Leewinchell Jean produced a lifetime best to take silver in the 400 metre hurdles. The University of Windsor student crossed the line in 52.86 seconds, dropping nine tenths of a second from his previous best set winning OFSAA gold in 2019.

Other medals from the weekend included a bronze from Stephen Evans in the 800 metres and gold from the 4×100 metre relay team of David Adeleye, Luca Nicoletti, David Moulongou, and Bertwin Ben-Smith.

(Tornton, Canada---24 July 2021) Vanessa Lu Langley competing in the 100m hurdle heats at the 2021 Athletics Ontario U20 Championships, held at the Metro Toronto Track and Field Centre. Photograph 2021 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images. If you post on social media please tag @mundosportimages on Instagram or tag Mundo Sport Images on Facebook.

Lions win Ontario U20 title for first time since 2014

by linkinbioProvincial

Not even Mother Nature could cool off the sizzling performances on the track as the Ottawa Lions captured the Ontario U20 team title – its first since 2014. Despite a rain delay Saturday, it was an otherwise perfect weekend for competition at the Metro Toronto Track and Field Centre on the campus of York University as the Lions narrowly edged out the Flying Angels Track Club by a single point, 108-107, to capture the provincial banner.  The provincial title, the Club’s 54th since 2000, was a truly team effort with points coming from 18 of the 22 events the Lions were entered in.

The lone gold medal of the weekend came from one of the youngest competitors, 16-year-old Amelia Van Brabant in the 3000 metres. The soon to be grade 11 student put together a jaw dropping performance, crossing the line in 9:57.73 and knocking over 26 seconds off her previous best. Not to be outdone, Van Brabant also dropped four seconds off her 1500 metre best as she ran to a sixth place finish in 4:42.46 to pick up an extra three points.

The remaining medals from the weekend came by way of the hurdles and relays, with Lions athletes securing a medal in each of the four hurdle events and the five relays they participated in.

David Adeleye and Vanessa Lu Langley each picked up a bronze in the sprint hurdles. Adeleye, the soon to be second year student at the University of Toronto, set a personal best of 14.14 seconds over the 110 metre hurdles in the prelims before a 14.34 second clocking in the finals. Entering her second year at McGill University, Lu Langley was at her best in the finals of the 100 metre hurdles, equaling her personal best at 15.49 seconds.

The 400 metre hurdles saw Keito Newman pick up his first provincial. Running out of the slow heat of the timed final event, Newman produced a more than two second personal best of 56.98 seconds to narrowly edge out teammate Luca Nicoletti. Similarly, Emily Brennan also produced a more than two second lifetime best (1:07.13) to nab bronze in the women’s race.

The relays produced silvers in both 4×100 metre events as the team of Cora McQuinn, Doyin Ogunremi, Emily Brennan, and Bianca Borgella finished in a time of 50.03 seconds. A slight bobble in the final handoff likely kept the quartet of Seiyf Gebara, Luca Nicoletti, David Moulongou, and David Adeleye from claiming top spot, as they finished in 42.70 seconds, just behind Flying Angels.

Nicoletti and Moulongou teamed up with Thomas Kukla-Colby and Keito Newman in the 4×400 relay to garner another silver – again in a very tight finish. The quartet led the race for 1599 metres before being edged at the line by World U20 qualifier Michael Roth of St. Thomas Legion. The margin of victory for St. Thomas Legion – just seven hundredths ahead of the Lions 3:24.71 clocking.

The women’s 4×400 metre relay team exchanged Borgella for Audrey Gilmour as they picked up another silver – this time in 4:03.26.

Andrew Taylor, Phoenix Bouma, Cameron Porter, and Jackson Roy rounded out the relay medal haul as they place second in the 4×800 metre race with a time of 8 minutes and 24.37 seconds.

“Everyone showed up,” exclaimed Aspire program lead Zach Quevillon of the the team title. “Countless personal bests and seasons bests across the board resulted in a team championship. In between events, athletes were supporting each other with advice or cheering, both of which kept team moral higher than it has been in over a year due to COVID. I am most proud of the athletes ability to weather the uncertainty of the last 16 months and show up with an incredible desire to compete and to win.”

For full results and photos of the championship, visit our results page.

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Lions Olympic History

by Internationallinkinbio

As the torch inside Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium was lit Friday night, the latest set of Lions athletes to compete in the Olympic Games watched together with their track and field teammates at their pre-competition camp in Gifu, about 275 kilometres west of Tokyo.

The trio is comprised of Olympic veterans Melissa Bishop-Nriagu and Tim Nedow, as well as Olympic rookie Lauren Gale. The 21-year-old Gale becomes the 16th Lion to compete at the Olympics, following in the footsteps of Team Canada Head Coach Glenroy Gilbert who made his debut back at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Gilbert was part of the original class of Lions Olympians back in Seoul when he competed in the long jump (7.61m – 22nd). He was joined in the South Korean capital by fellow Lions Hall of Famer and high jumper Brian Marshall (2.22m – 19th) as well as 10,000 metre runner John Halvorsen (28:29.21 – 16th), who competed for his native Norway. Four years later, Halvorsen (29:53.91 – 19th) would again join Gilbert (4x100m – DNF) in Barcelona.

At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Gilbert would live out the Olympic dream of claiming gold as part of Canada’s 4×100 metre relay team (37.69 NR – 1st). If you’re wondering, we do indeed love “Saturday nights in Georgia”. Glenroy also placed 22nd in the 100m with a time of 10.28 seconds. He was not alone at these Games as he was joined by Lions record holders Steve Agar (3:43.02 – 37th) in the 1500 metres and Lesley Tashlin in the 100 metre hurdles (13.61 – 37th) and 4x100m relay (44.34 – 14th). Agar, also a member of the Lions Hall of Fame, was representing his native Dominica.

Gilbert’s final Games as an athlete was as a member of the 4×100 metre relay (38.92 – 11th) team in Sydney, while Hall of Famer Sean Kaley made his only Olympic appearance, running the 10,000 metres (28:36.07 – 39th).

At the 2004 Games in Athens, Richard Adu-Bobie was named to his first Olympic team after setting the Canadian U20 record for 100 metres at the Trials. He would serve as an alternate for the 4×100 metre relay team that placed 7th overall.

Adu-Bobie would again serve as an alternate on the relay squad at the 2008 Games in Beijing that would go on to place fifth. Adu-Bobie was joined in the Chinese capital by first time Olympian, Sultana Frizell in the hammer throw (65.44m – 33rd)

The London Games of 2012 featured a record five Lions, with Sultana Frizell returning in the hammer throw (67.45m – 22nd). Melissa Bishop-Nriagu made her debut at 800 metres (2:09.33 – 28tth) while Oluseyi Smith ran the second leg on Canada’s 4×100 metre relay team that crossed the finish line in third but was ultimately disqualified for a lane violation. Oluwasegun Makinde served as an alternate for the 4x100m relay team. Rounding out the contingent was Delphine Atangana, who contested the 100 metres (11.82 – 48th) for her native Cameroon.

The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro equalled London for the largest contingent of Lions with five athletes. Melissa Bishop-Nriagu was 4th at 800 metres in a national record 1:57.02. A pair of Club record holders made their debut, Sekou Kaba in the 110 metre hurdles (13.70 – 28th) and Tim Nedow in the shot put (20.00m – 16th). Farah Jacques led off Canada’s 4×100 metre relay team (43.15 – 6th) and Oluwasegun Makinde was again an alternate on the men’s 4×100 relay team that would win bronze.

We look forward to the new Olympic memories this year’s trio will bring. Melissa Bishop-Nriagu kicks off the competition with heats of the 800 metres on the opening day of competition. Heats of the women’s 800 are schedule for 8:55pm eastern on July 29th. Tim Nedow will compete in shot put qualifying on August 3rd at 6:15 am eastern, while Lauren Gale and the women’s 4×400 metre relay team run in the heats on August 5th at 6:25 am eastern.

The Lions would also like to congratulate Club record holder Mike Woods on his fifth place finish in the cycling road race and wish best of luck to former Club members Alicia Brown (women’s 4x400m) and Alejandro Perlaza (400m and 4x400m) competing for his native Colombia.

OTTAWA - July 21, 2021: Joe Fast competing at Ottawa Summer Twilight #12 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Fast times at Twilight #12

by linkinbioLocal

Its almost as though every new week brings a new Canadian record for Bianca Borgella. In all honesty, that is likely because it has been the case in each of the first four Twilight Meets of the summer. The 18 year old sprinter from the town of Hammond, about ten minutes east of Cumberland, took down the one remaining T13 sprint record she did not hold Wednesday night  – the 200m.

Running in the heats of Wednesday’s 200m, Borgella crossed the line in a time of 26.05 seconds to take more than three seconds off the previous record of 29.53 set by Shaunelle Gregory in 2015. Borgella nearly set the record again in the final, finishing fourth in 26.06.

Alexandra Telford also sped her way to a fast time at Twilight #12 as she took top spot in the 400 metre hurdles. The 25-year old architecture student made a strong debut in the event, as she crossed the line in 1:01.36. The time moves Telford to 14th in Club history. Helena Jovic, who sits seventh in those same rankings, was second in 1:02.27.

The men’s 800 metres was moving on Wednesday night as St. Laurent Selects’ Kevin Robertson gave Achraf Tadili’s Twilight Record of 1:48.88 a scare with his 1:49.11 clocking. In seventh, Joe Fast was the top Lion with a new personal best of 1:54.96. Lions youth runners David Moulongou and Phoenix Bouma also got in on the PB train, as they cracked the two minute barrier for the first time, running 1:59.10 and 1:59.76 respectively. Moulongou was also quite impressive in the 200 metres where he ran another personal best, crossing the finish line in 22.95 seconds.

For the under-20 athletes, Wednesday’s Twilight was a great final tune up as they head to Toronto this weekend to compete in the Ontario Championships. You can watch the action live on Athletics Ontario’s YouTube Channel and follow live results at https://athleticsontario.ca/statistics/results/live/2021/0722-ontario-u20-champs/index.htm

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President’s Corner for July 2021 – with Jennifer Dumoulin

by adminlinkinbio

Hi everyone,

For this month’s President’s Corner, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and talk about why I volunteered to be on our Club’s Board of Directors.

I began running with the Ottawa Lions in June 2016, shortly after I found out that I had been accepted to start my PhD at the University of Ottawa. I’d recently returned to Ottawa after completing my law degree and, although I’d only been a recreational runner, wanted to improve my time in the half-marathon. I felt as though I’d come as far as I could on my own, so I emailed the Club and, shortly thereafter, started attending weekly practices.

Although it wasn’t what I expected – I thought I’d be working on my long runs and ended up doing 5km races on the track at Twilight meets – I was hooked. And so, at the age of 30, I entered the world of competitive varsity athletics. By the time the first year of my PhD started, I lived for practices, enjoyed the thrill of competition and was excited to see my times improving. I welcomed the break from studying and work, and my teammates quickly became my friends – many of whom I’m still close with today.

The reason that I share this with you is that being part of the Club and competing as a varsity athlete is what kept me in my PhD program. My first semester was tough, really tough – and I thought about dropping out, but I knew that if I did, I’d have to leave the world of varsity athletics too. And now, just over five years later, as I approach the completion of my doctorate, I can honestly say that running and the Ottawa Lions are, at least in part, to thank. It’s for this reason that I applied to be on our Club’s Board of Directors back in 2019. This Club – our Club – has had such a huge impact on my life and I wanted to give back.

I know that not everyone has had the same experience as I have and my heart breaks for anyone who has been hurt by the actions of those who have been involved with the Club in the past. We cannot hide from our past – nor are we. But, I firmly believe that we are moving forward and doing better.

Being a part of the Ottawa Lions, first as an athlete and now as a member of the Board of Directors, has taught me that our Club offers something unique to our community, to our city and to our key partners. I’m continuously inspired by our dedicated staff, volunteers, coaches, and officials who make our programs and events possible, and by our passionate athletes who make the sport of track and field a priority and commit countless hours to training, travelling and competition. This is what our Club is about.

Our mission as a Club is to provide all members with a positive, inclusive Track & Field experience, free from harassment and discrimination, that nurtures and inspires athletic performance and excellence and raises the profile and prestige of Track & Field. Together, I believe that we can achieve this. I would encourage you to reach out to share your ideas and experiences, or let us know if you are interested in helping out with the Club.

I hope to see many of you at the track this summer and look forward to keeping you updated on the work of the Board of Directors.

Sincerely,

Jenn

—

Jennifer Dumoulin
President, Board of Directors
Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club
president@ottawalions.com

(Ottawa, Canada---07 July 2021) Jason Dunkerley racing in the 1500m at Ottawa Summer Twilight Series Meet #10. Photograph 2021 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Bishop-Nriagu wins in Sacramento; Borgella and Dunkerley highlight Twilight #10

by linkinbioNational

It was another race and another “W” in the win column for Melissa Bishop-Nriagu as she took home top honours at the Under Armour Sunset Tour event in Sacramento. In her final tune up competition before the Olympics, Bishop-Nriagu looked unfazed by the competition around her as she crossed the line in a seasonal best 1:58.36.

From the gun, the two-time Olympian took the lead in behind the pace setter and followed her around the track for an opening lap of 57.5 seconds.  As the pacer stepped off the Sacramento State University track, Bishop-Nriagu’s legs kept rolling down the backstretch as her lead remained unchallenged. Entering the final hundred metres, Sabrina Southerland of the Oregon Track Club persisted in her attack on Melissa’s lead, but her attempts proved futile as the pride of Eganville would win by a few meters.

Closer to home, Bianca Borgella ended last week’s Twilight Meet #10 with a bang as she set a Canadian Record for the second week in a row. In the final event of the evening, the 18-year old blasted her way to a new personal best in the 100 metres, crossing the line in 12.79 seconds. The performance bettered the previous T13 standard by nearly 1.2 seconds, set by Shaunelle Gregory in 2015.

Borgella now sits 12th in the world rankings for 2021. She’ll have a couple more opportunities at upcoming Twilight Meets to better the mark as she tries to qualify and represent Canada at the upcoming Paralympic Games.

Also looking to join Team Canada in Tokyo is five-time Paralympian Jason Dunkerley. The 43-year old distance runner recently returned to distance running for a shot at an impressive sixth Games and he took a step closer to realizing that achievement last Wednesday as he dropped his seasonal best in the 1500 metres to 4:19.14. The time puts Dunkerley 10th in the global rankings. He will likely need to move into the top eight (4:17) for a shot at competing in Tokyo.