(Ottawa, Canada---16 August 2023) Wendy Alexis competes in the 200m at Ottawa Summer Twilight Series Meet #11. Copyright 2023 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Lions take home five gold from Ontario Masters Championship

by MastersProvincial

Just a week following the Canadian Masters Championships, a small but mighty pride of Lions took to the track at York University for the Ontario Masters Championships. The group of five athletes took home a total of seven medals including five gold. 

As she did a week ago in Montreal, Wendy Alexis easily took home the top spot in the women’s 65 and over 60 and 200 metre titles. Alexis’ winning times of 8.92 and 30.67 are the fastest times in the world for any woman in her age category. 

A pair of gold medals came from 76-year-old jumper Stan Seitz.  The veteran of masters athletics cleared a height of 1.15 metres in the M75 high jump before leaping out to 2.15 metres in the long jump. With his two medals, Seitz has now accumulated over 45 provincial and national medals in his masters career.

Gilles Frenette rounded out the list of gold medalists as he took top spot in the M45 Mile steeplechase. While not typically a contested race indoors, Frenette crossed the line in 5 minutes and 54.87 seconds to claim top spot. 

Sam Shi and Mike McInerney rounded out the medal winners for the Lions with silver and bronze medals respectively. Both awards came over 1500 metres, where Shi placed in the M30 event with his 4:33.59 effort and McInerney went 5:16.89 in the M55 event. 

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Fastest women in the world lead Lions medal haul at Canadian Masters Championship

by linkinbioMastersNational

In a weekend filled with no less than 24 medals, the 2024 Canadian Masters Indoor Track and Field Championship was an unbridled success for members of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club led by two outstanding women who top the world in their respective events.

Leading the charge in the medal tally was the fastest woman on the planet for her age – Wendy Alexis. The 68-year-old sprinted her way to gold in the 50, 60, and 200 metre events to bring her lifetime medal tally to an even 30 gold medals from the Canadian Masters Championships indoors and out. Alexis produced world leading times of 7.81 and 30.89 seconds respectively in the 50 and 200 metres, while her time of 8.98 seconds in the 60 metres was just two hundredths of a second off her world leading time set last month.

Liz Maguire produced the fastest time in the world this year en-route to winning the W55 800 metres. Maguire’s time of 2 minutes and 32.41 seconds bested the previous world lead from the United States’ Michelle Rohl by more than a second. At 1500 metres, Maguire’s winning time 5:08.73 would have topped the world rankings if not for her own faster run earlier this season.

Jay Sneddon also doubled up in the distance events, taking home top spot in the M30 1500 and 3000 metre events. Sneddon’s wins came in times of 4:43.84 and 9:50.93 respectively.

In his first, Canadian Masters Championship, Simon Ha sprinted his way to victory in the M35 50 and 200 metre events while adding a bronze at 60 metres. Veteran competitor Andrew Heffernan claimed the gold in the Men’s 200m for the 35-and-above category and then ran a leg on a Canadian Record breaking 4×400 metre relay team.

Rosalind Muir demonstrated her speed prowess by clinching gold in the W50 200 metres with a time of 36.23 seconds and also notched silvers in both the 50 and 60 metre events.

The women’s 35 and over 800 metre title went to Kimberley Howitt in a time of 2 minutes and 32.28 seconds. Howitt also claimed silver at 400 metres. In similar fashion, the ageless San Seitz topped the field in the M75 high jump with a clearance of 1.25 metres and took silver in the long jump with a leap of 2.95 metres.

Noteworthy performances continued with Michael Conway’s silver in the M35 800m and Michel Smith’s bronze in the M50 200m. Ashley Crawford displayed a commendable bronze trifecta in the Women’s W35 50, 200, and 400 metre events.

Next up for our masters competitors is the Ontario Championships this coming Sunday in Toronto

For updated performance rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

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Robertson and Lebel win provincial cross country titles

by linkinbioMastersProvincial

From under-10 to masters runners, triumph echoed throughout the Lions squad at Sunday’s Ontario Cross Country Championships. Battling it out on a challenging course at Toronto’s Downsview Park, the Lions captured six individual medals along with three team medals.

For the first time in more than a decade, a Lions runner took home a provincial senior title as Kevin Robertson took top spot in the men’s eight-kilometre race. The NACAC U23 steeplechase champion bested Melika Ghali of Monarch Athletics Club with a time time of 25 minutes and 6 seconds. 

Also running their way to the top of the podium was Ronan Lebel, who topped the U10 boys race for the second year in a row. Lebel won the one kilometre race in 3 minutes and 58 seconds. Finishing two seconds behind him Ronan was teammate Gustave Côté Hughes for silver. 

Our masters runners brought home a trio of medals led by defending national champion Liz Maguire. The class of the Women’s 55-59 category, Maguire finished the five-kilometre course in 20 minutes and 44 seconds – 13 seconds ahead of second place finisher Christy Barber of the Toronto Harriers. 

Kimberley Howitt nabbed a silver in the Women’s 35-39 category and Jay Sneddon nabbed a bronze in the Men’s 30-34 category. Sneddon’s performance also led the Lions to a team silver in the same category with the help from teammates Fritzlor Auguste and Sam Shi.

In her first post collegiate season, Nina Günther has had tremendous success on the cross country trails this fall. While, she narrowly missed yet another podium performance on Sunday, the University of Ottawa graduate was fifth across the line in the senior women’s eight-kilometre race with a time of 30 minutes and 25 seconds. Teammed with Aria MacDonald (12th), Melina Hamel (13th) and Kylee Fowler (15th) the Lions senior women brought home provincial silver. 

Sunday’s medal for the women was the Club’s first senior team medal at the provincial championships since 2008. That year, the team of Dana Buchanan, Julia Hicks, Robyn Erickson, and Lisa Benzthe were Ontario champions.

Rounding out the medal haul was the U16 girls team, which took home silver behind a dominating win from the Newmarket Huskies. Scoring for the Lions were Kyra Lauter (16), Laila Lebel (20), Dahlia Loreti (21), and Riley Daniels (29). With  a total of 86 points, the quartet narrowly edged out the Durham Dragons and their 89 points.

Full results from Sunday’s races are available online at https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-US/results/e6jyuaqn3wcjc7nf/results

OTTAWA - August 15: Wendy Alexis at the fourth Ottawa Summer Twilight Series meet of 2020, held under COVID-19 protocols at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Lions bring home 13 medals from Canadian Masters Championship

by linkinbioMastersNational

For the second time in two weeks Langley, BC played host to a national championship. This time around it was the Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships taking place at the McLeod Athletic Park Stadium and again Lions athletes were in it to win it, bringing home 13 medals overall including 8 gold.

A pair of nationals rookies led the medal haul as Erinn Joseph and Ashley Crawford each took home a trio of medals from the Championship.

Joseph made it a clean sprint sweep – taking the top spot at 100, 200, and 400 metres. The 33-year-old produced seasonal best performances at all three distances to claim gold, including dropping nearly half a second of each of her 200 and 400 metre bests.

Crawford also garnered three medals in the sprint events. A seasonal best of 67.05 at 400 metres was good enough for bronze in the W35 category. Crawford was a combined nine hundredths of a second off her bests at 100 and 200 metres, but nonetheless took home the silver and bronze medals respectively in the two events.

Our undisputed queen of masters sprinting, Wendy Alexis again showed why she is one of the best in the world – comfortably taking home the gold in both the 100 and 200 metre events in the W65 category. At 68 years of age, Alexis won the 100 in a time of 14.12 seconds – her fastest performance since 2020 and the third best regardless of age at the Canadian Championship. Alexis also produced her fastest 200 metre performance in three years, winning in 29.89 seconds.

After a bronze and gold performance at the indoor championships, Michael Conway upgraded himself to a pair of golds at 400 and 800 metres in Langley. The 39-year-old’s winning time of 55.33 was more than three seconds faster than the second place finisher. Over the two lap race the margin of victory extended to 8.5 seconds as Conway crossed the line in 2 minutes and 5.76 seconds. 

Rounding out this year’s medalists was Kimberley Howitt, who also picked up a pair of medals over 400 and 800 metres. Last year’s Most Outstanding Masters Athlete for the Lions was a silver medalist at 400, finishing behind former national junior team member Corri Fell with a seasonal best time of 1:06.05. Over 800 metres, Howitt produced the fastest women’s time in any age category, winning in 2 minutes and 31.52 seconds.  

Marino Sani also added a bronze in the M60 400 metres with a time of 1:13.66.

For updated Club performance rankings, please visit: https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

(Ottawa, Canada---12 July 2023) Stan Seitz competing in Ottawa Summer Twilight #6. Photograph Copyright 2023 Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Lions win 29 medals at Ontario Masters Championships

by linkinbioMastersProvincial

This year’s Ontario Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships was undoubtedly the best in recent memory for the Lions. Club athletes took home an eye popping 29 medals including 18 gold. On top of that, six meet records were set including a brand new provincial masters record.

Taking home two of those medals was the ageless jumper, Stan Seitz. At 75 years young, Seitz set an M75 record in the high jump with his clearance of 1.20 metres. A three time champion in the high jump at the Canadian Masters Championships, Stan equalled the previous record of 1.10 metres on his opening height before making successive first attempt clearances at 1.15 and 1.20 metres. 

Seitz’s other gold came from the pole vault where he cleared 2.35 metres for victory. 

Making a splash in his masters championship debut, Andrew Heffernan set three championship records. Heffernan, who is more widely known for his success guiding athletes on the international para athletics circuit, set meet records in both the M30 800 and 1500 metre events. 

Heffernan posted a winning time of 2 minutes and 3.09 seconds in the 800, trimming more than two seconds off the previous championship mark set by Trevor Van Nest in 2002. Teammate Fritzlor Auguste picked up the silver in 2:11.90.

Over 1500 metres, the pair of Heffernan and Auguste finished first and second respectively. Andrew’s winning time of 4 minutes and 24.07 seconds was 19 seconds faster than the previous mark set by Jimmy Semes in 2011. Fritzlor finished in 4:49.37.

Teaming up with Michael Conway, Gilles Frenette, and Auguste, Heffernan got his third Championship record in the M30 4×400 metre relay. The quartet took the gold in a time of 3 minutes and 52.20 seconds. 

In another relay, the team of Lionale Nahum, Neil Fine, Michel Smith, and Sancho McCann set a new championship record in the M35 4×100 metre relay. The quartet got the stick around in a time of 50.12 seconds. 

Rounding out the championship records for the Lions, William McLeish set a new mark in the M30 5000 metres. His time of 16 minutes and 6.02 seconds bested the previous standard of 16:22.21 set by Dan Way in 2017. McLeish was also the lead in a Lions sweep of the podium with clubmates Jay Sneddow (16:46.27) and Sam Shi (17:33.10) finishing in the silver and bronze medal positions respectively. 

Below is the full list of Lions medal winners from the Championship.

Ashley Crawford – Silver 100m (W35)

Danette Nearing-Guibord – Gold 100m (W60)

Wendy Alexis – Gold 100m (W65)

Sancho McCann – Gold 100m (M40)

Ashley Crawford – Silver 200m (W35)

Danette Nearing-Guibord – Gold 200m (W60)

Wendy Alexis – Gold 200m (W65)

Sancho McCann – Gold 200m (M40)

Erinn Joseph – Gold 400m (W30)

Ashley Crawford – Gold 400m (W35)

Jodi Forster-Molstad – Bronze 400m (W45)

Andrew Heffernan – Silver 400m (M30)

Michael Conway – Silver 400m (M35)

Marino Sani – Bronze 400m (M60)

Andrew Heffernan – Gold 800m (M30)

Fritzlor Auguste – Silver 800m (M30)

Michael Conway – Gold 800m (M35)

Andrew Heffernan – Gold 1500m (M30)

Fritzlor Auguste – Silver 1500m (M30)

William McLeish – Gold 5000m (M30)

Jay Sneddon – Silver 5000m (M30)

Sam Shi – Bronze 5000m (M30)

Gilles Frenette – Gold 3000m Steeplechase (M45)

Neil Fine – Gold High Jump (M35)

Stan Seitz – Gold High Jump (M75)

Stan Seitz – Gold Pole Vault (M75)

Tom Pincombe – Silver Discus (M45)

Lionel Nahum,Neil Fine,Michel Smith,Sancho McCann – Gold 4x100m (M35)

Michael Conway,Gilles Frenette,Fritzlor Auguste,Andrew Heffernan – Gold 4x400m (M30)

For updated Club rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

For complete results from the Championship, please visit Ontario Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championship

OTTAWA - August 19, 2020: Liz Maguire at the fifth Ottawa Summer Twilight Series meet of 2020, held under COVID-19 protocols at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

Lions enjoy weekend of road racing success

by InternationallinkinbioMastersNational

Monday was Patriot’s Day in the United States – a holiday celebrated on the third Monday of April commemorating some of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. For running fans, it’s more commonly known as the day of the Boston Marathon. 

This year’s event in the Massachusetts capital featured a number of current and former Lions in action. Leading the contingent was Josh Cassidy, a mainstay at the event for more than a decade. The two-time Paralympian was 19th to cross the finish line on Boylston Street, stopping the clock in 1 hour 47 minutes and 2 seconds. 

While Monday’s result was Cassidy’s worst performance at Boston, he still managed to find the silver lining. “Coming down Boylston for the final stretch with the incredible support as always is emotional,” expressed Cassidy on Instagram following the race. “Even after a rough one, thousands of people patting you on the back, to say well done.”

The other two current Lions in Boston runners were a pair of masters runners – Liz Maguire and Rob Muir. Maguire finished Monday’s race in 3:18:16 to finish an impressive 10th among the women’s 55-59 age category. In the same age grouping, Muir finished 109th among the men with a time of 3:10:18.

In other road running action, Nicholas Pedersen and Jay Sneddon ventured their way across the country to take on the Vancouver Sun Run Sunday morning. Pedersen, who was battling a nagging injury heading into the race, posted a time of 33 minutes and 59.0 seconds to place 67th in the race of more than 25,000 runners. Nico was 9th in the men’s 19-24 category.

For Sneddon, the Sun Run is always a bit of a homecoming for the man who originally hails from nearby Tsawwassen. The 30-year-old cracked the top-100 as he crossed the line in a time of 34 minutes and 34.0 seconds to placed 84th overall. 

Closer to home masters runners Fritzlor Auguste and Gilles Frenette were in action at the Course Saint Laurent 5k in the Montreal suburb. Auguste, a silver medalist at last year’s Canadian Cross Country Championships, placed 45th overall with a time of 18 minutes and 36.0 seconds. Teammate Gilles Frenette was 58th across the line, stopping the clock at 19:12.0.

For updated Club Rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/