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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.

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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, Canada---12 September 2020) Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club Head Coach Richard Johnston. Copyright 2020 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

April Update from Richard Johnston

by adminCOVIDlinkinbio

Dear members,

Please take a quick read over the following message regarding the impacts of the most recent provincial announcement.

 

On Thursday, April 1st, Premier Doug Ford announced that as of 12:01am Saturday, April 3rd the province will go into a month long “shutdown”. While the City of Ottawa interprets the provincial measures to their own venues, the Terry Fox Athletic Facility will be closed until further notice. This will unfortunately result in on official pause to our spring/summer outdoor programs.

Notes on Programs:

The final early spring practice scheduled on Saturday April 3rd will be cancelled due to the facility closure.

The start of our competitive spring/summer programs that were scheduled for April 7th will be postponed until further notice.

The start of our spring Aspire, Foundation and Youth programs that were scheduled on April 19th will be postponed until further notice.

We will continue to evaluate the scenario before adjusting our events scheduled in May (Twilight series and Ottawa High Performance Weekend).

I am requesting all registrants to be patient until we have complete details before any bombardment of questions. We will issue a notice to all spring/summer programs on how the changes affect the times, prices and the layout of practices.

This update is far from what we were expecting to share as we begin the spring months. We are all frustrated with the roller coaster of lockdowns, shutdowns and stay at home orders. In fact, that is probably a mellow emotion to what most of us feel has played out since March of 2020. I must commend our members for the diligence and commitment displayed over the past 13 months. The drive is still there and unlike last summer, we have the template in place to return all programs at the appropriate time. Let’s not sleep on this pause but carry that drive over so that when we are back it will be a minor blip in training.

 

Take care and Happy Easter,

 

Richard Johnston

Executive Director
Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

(Guelph, Canada---07 June 2019) Melissa Bishop-Nriagu competing in the 800m at the 2019 Speed River Inferno Track and Field Festival held at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. This race was Bishop-Nriagu's first 800m after a two year break to have a baby. Copyright image 2019 Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Lions kick off outdoor season with record and personal bests

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

It’s not often we have athletes lacing up their shoes for outdoor competition in the second week of March, but these times are far from normal. Melissa Bishop-Nriagu and Tommy Nedow each put their opportunity to good use, walking away with personal best performances on the day.

For Bishop-Nriagu, Saturday night’s season debut at 1500 metres was the first competitive step to finding her way on to her third Olympic team, and it was a very good step. The Eganville native crossed the line in four minutes and 9.36 seconds to finish second at the Vic City Elite event behind Lucia Stafford’s 4:06.86. The time equaled Bishop-Nriagu’s own Club record set in 2019. The former world medalist, who temporarily moved to Victoria earlier this year to train with coach Trent Stellingwerf, indicated after the reace she had been bothered by an achy Achilles.

“But I feel good now. Things are going well,”  she told the Victoria Times-Columnist.

For thrower Tommy Nedow, his fourth place finish in the shot put at Friday’s South Alabama Invite in Mobile was second straight personal best effort for the Southeastern Louisiana junior. Nedow’s best mark of 16.93 metres was a single centimetre better than the distance he threw to capture the Southland Conference indoor title two weeks prior. The Brockville native showed strong form in the discus, taking second place with a heave of 51.02 metres.

Nedow’s older brother Tim opened up his 2021 season at the Athletics Ontario High Performance Meet at York University. The 2019 world finalist had a very consistent effort in the shot put, with all his throws landing within 15 centimetres of each other. Nedow’s winning mark of 20.12 metres came on his six and final throw.

 

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Back on track – Lions athletes return to formal practices

by COVIDHigh SchoollinkinbioLocal

Incredible. It was all the words Foundation and Aspire program director Zach Quevillon needed to express his feelings about being back at practice.

After two months of lockdown, where treadmills, Zoom workouts, and other at home training became the norm, the Lions returned to practice Saturday morning at the spacious Sooner Megadome located at École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais in Stittsville. Saturday’s practice, a soft opening to March’s full return to programming at three separate locations across the city, included approximately 35 athletes who ran, hurdled, and bounded across the spacious turf field.

With nearly all members of the Aspire Program back training Saturday morning, coaches Quevillon and Connor Dobson led the high school students through their paces as they prepare for a competitive season that will be void of an OFSAA Championship for the second straight season. Quevillon plans to ease the athletes back into the swing of things over the next four months as the athletes prepare to head back outdoors in April. “It was evident that everybody’s been working really hard on their time away,” said the fifth year coach. “Virtual workouts were a success and we are at a starting point that is a lot further down the road than I was expecting having not seen [the athletes] in two plus months.”

Hurdler Luca Nicoletti said he found at home training to be more static and was happy to be back at practice with the whole team. After two months of treadmill running and drills at home, “it felt great to get back to running at a high speed,” said the 2019 Legion National silver medalist. Nicoletti says his focus this summer is returning to Legion Nationals, if the event does take place.

While the treadmill was go to for a number of athletes during lockdown, coach Normand Seguin notes the transfer of mechanics from the treadmill to the track takes some time. “Surprisingly [the athletes] found they are weak in the quads. When they pushed they realized they have to push, so they were slower,” said Seguin of the re-adjustment to running on a stationary surface. Nonetheless, the long time coach was pleased with where the athletes were, “I can tell they are very fit, they just need a little bit more exposure.”

Lions athletes will continue to get the necessary training exposure throughout March with sessions taking place at the Sooner Megadome, Aberdeen Pavilion, and Carp’s Oz Dome. For more information about our programs, please consult our website.

 

(Montreal, Canada---27 July 2019) Lauren Gale pulls away in the home straight to win the U20 400m at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Gale breaks own record in Iowa

by linkinbioUniversity

The sport of athletics is all about pushing through barriers, whether that be distance or time. For Lauren Gale, her performance at last weekend’s Iowa State Classic was just another example of breaking through a time barrier. The Colorado State University 400 metre specialist broke the 53 second barrier indoors for the first time, running a blistering 52.83. The performance shaved off over six tenths of a second from the previous school mark she set while winning last year’s Mountain West Conference Championship.

Gale’s recent efforts in practice had indicated something good was ready happen after a new personal best in her flying 20 metre run a 37.5 second clocking for 300 metres. She also indicated she’s hit a few personal bests in the weight room as well, which helped culminate in the new indoor best.

While Gale is happy to be training and competing, she has had to shift the focus of her indoor season this year when the conference cancelled this season’s indoor championship last fall. “Without Mountain West, I have been going for times,” said Gale of her adjustment. “It’s me versus the clock now.” It seems to be a battle the third year student is winning as she also set a new best over 200 metres – winning in 23.88 seconds.

The seven time Colorado State High School champion has had to adjust to life under COVID, including avoiding its wrath as it swept through her team earlier this season. COVID has also brought along new protocols such as smaller training groups, mask wearing during practice and twice a week COVID testing – Gale insists the nasal swab is not fun. Nonetheless, she remains positive about the progress. “We are pushing through and I’m still working hard towards my goals. It’s been a little crazy, but manageable.”

Gale’s goals have been consistent through the year – qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June at the University of Oregon and then run at the Olympic Trials in Montreal and qualify to represent Canada in Tokyo. This past weekend’s performance hasn’t altered her focus, but has instilled more confidence in herself that she can achieve those goals.

“I really did surprise myself at how fast I ran. Now I’ve got some faster times I want to hit and big meets to qualify for,” explained Gale, who holds an outdoor best of 52.68 seconds.  “It only makes me want to push harder to be the best I can.”

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Board of Directors adds four new members

by adminlinkinbio

The Ottawa Lions are pleased to announce the appointment of four new board members at the February 1, 2021 Annual General Meeting.

Joining the Board are James Bruce, Andrew Heffernan, Noah Houlton, and Jennifer Perrault. As a current athlete, Heffernan will take on the role of Athlete Representative on the Board, while the other three will stand as Directors at Large. The quartet of individuals all have previous experience with the Club as either athletes or administrators.

James Bruce was a middle distance runner for the Ravens while completing his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at Carleton University. Bruce currently works in business development for a local engineering firm.

Andrew Heffernan has a long history with the Club, spanning more than 10 years running for the University of Ottawa and serving as a guide runner for multiple national team athletes – including an appearance at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Off the track, Heffernan, who has significant experience working in federal politics, is currently pursuing his doctorate in political science and government at the University of Ottawa and teaches courses at the undergraduate level.

Noah Houlton has been a mainstay with the Lions over the past eight years as both a leader of the timing team and manager of varsity programs at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Houlton holds both a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing and Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa and recently began articling with Emond Harnden L.L.P., a well-known and respected labour and employment law firm in the city.

After graduating from Western University, Jennifer Perrault attended the University of Ottawa, where she graduated with a master’s degree in human kinetics. As a member of the Gee Gees, Perrault was USports champion over 1000 metres. Following her studies, Perrault headed west to Calgary to begin a career in human resources. She has experience leading HR teams at both Fortune 500 and small family-run companies. She recently returned to Ottawa and is working as a HR Specialist with a local engineering consulting firm.

The Ottawa Lions is excited to welcome our new board members. With their leadership experience and range of expertise, they will strengthen the capacity of the Board to best serve the membership.

 

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Weekend Update

by linkinbioUniversity

With the first weekend of February upon us, Lions athletes competing for their NCAA schools are another week closer to championship meets and this weekend’s results showed they are rounding in to form.

Staying undefeated this season was Colorado State junior Lauren Gale. The 400 metre specialist stepped down in distance as she took victory in the seldom run 55 metres at the Power Meet in Laramie, Wyoming. Gale’s winning time of 6.94 seconds ranks her fourth all-time in Colorado State history. Gale now holds top five school marks in four events indoors, including records in both the 400 metres and 4×400 metre relay.

Further east, at the Arkansas Qualifier, Keira Christie-Galloway continued to find her rhythm in the 60 metre hurdles. The Arizona State junior turned in a seasonal best performance of 8.31 seconds to finish fifth. The mark was a narrow improvement on her 8.32 clocking from a week ago. Christie-Galloway currently sits in 27th on the NCAA top list for this indoor season. As the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor championships have been cancelled this year, the Glebe Collegiate grad will have one final meet next weekend at Texas Tech to post a top 16 performance if she is to qualify for March’s NCAA Championship. Currently, that cut-off is 8.21 seconds.

Rounding out the weekend’s participants was Kevin Robertson, who ran his first competitive mile at the Virginia Tech Elite meet in Blacksburg. The Syracuse University sophomore was fifth in his section with a time of four minutes and 15.86 seconds and placed 14th overall.

 

(Ottawa, Canada---20 April 2019) Chaos during the start of the 1200m at the Ottawa Lions' 2019 Easter Bunny Chase development meet in the Dome at Louis Riel High School. Photograph Copyright 2019 Sean W Burges / mundosportimages.com.

Registration open for summer camps

by linkinbioLocal

The Ottawa Lions are pleased to announce registration is now open for our 2021 Youth Summer Camps. Offering half day programs designed for athletes aged 7-11 and 12-14 years old, the program targets the physical “hurdles” our youth may approach by applying progressive motor skill development, physical strength training, and cardiovascular conditioning.

Building on the success of the 2020 Summer Camps, which saw record attendance under COVID-19 protocols, our camps will again return with the same half day format while adhering to both Ottawa Public Health and Government of Ontario guidelines.

Campers will receive a second to none introduction to the sport of track and field. Children will come away from our program with a higher level of self-confidence, increased knowledge of the sport, and a skill set that will not only support them in the events of track and field but provide solid fundamentals for all other sports.

Camps are scheduled to begin July 5th and will run through the final week of August. For more information on the camps, and the rest of our youth program, please visit https://ottawalions.com/programs/youth-program/

If you wish to register your child for one of our camps, please visit http://www.trackiereg.com/2021-ottlsummercamp

(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).

Nedow and Christie-Galloway land on podium in NCAA competition

by linkinbioUniversity

It was a small but successful contingent of Lions athletes competing this weekend south of the border with both Tommy Nedow and Keira Christie-Galloway finding their way to the podium after seasonal best performances in their respective events.

Nedow, competing for Southeastern Louisiana University, took top spot in the shot put at the LSU Louisiana Invite. It was the second straight victory for the Brockville native in the early season action. Nedow’s best throw landed 16.47 metres from the circle, a mere four centimetres off his lifetime best set in 2019 at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships. All four of his measured throws exceeded that of the second place finisher, with the winning toss producing a more than one metre margin of victory.

Also, for the second time in two weeks, Nedow increased his personal best in the weight throw. This time, the fourth year student heaved the 35 pound ball out to 15.78 metres, adding 30 centimetres to the mark set back on the 16th.

In Lubbock at the Texas Tech Invitational, Keira Christie-Galloway knocked a few hundredths off her seasonal best in the 60 metre hurdles on her way to a bronze medal finish. The Arizona State University junior led all qualifiers with an 8.32 second clocking in the heats. The time moved the Glebe Collegiate graduate in to a tie for 23rd on NCAA top list. She recorded a time of 8.38 seconds in the final.

In a result we missed from last weekend, former USport Champion Stephen Evans opened up his 2021 campaign with a third place finish at the Orange Winter Classic #2 in Clermont, Florida. Evans posted a career best opener of one minute and 49.96 seconds.