(North York, Canada---14 July 2023) Lauren Gale of Ottawa Lions T.F.C. competing on day one of the Ontario U20/Open Track and Field Championships at the Toronto Track and Field Centre. Copyright 2023 Miles Ryan Rowat/ Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Bell Olympic and Paralympic Trials: Lions Athletes Aim for National Glory and Team Canada Spots

by linkinbioNational

Four years after it was originally scheduled, Montreal will finally host the Olympic and Paralympic Trials this weekend at the Centre Sportif Claude Robillard. Over 80 Lions athletes will be in action, competing for national glory in the U20, Open, and Para categories. For a select few, this event also serves as a crucial step towards earning a spot on Team Canada and competing later this summer in Paris.

Lions athletes are aiming to surpass their impressive haul of 10 medals from last year’s competition in Langley.

Elite Contenders

Among the favorites for medals and spots in Paris are sprinters Lauren Gale and Bianca Borgella. Both women enter the meet as the top seed in their principal events.

Lauren Gale is the top seed in the women’s 400 metres after setting a Club record of 50.47 seconds at the Royal City Inferno. Her time is well below the Olympic standard, and a victory will secure her place on her second Olympic team. Gale will also compete in the 200 metres, where she is ranked second with a time of 22.85 seconds.

Bianca Borgella is aiming to make her first Paralympic Team in the Para Ambulatory 100 metres. Borgella is currently the top-ranked T13 100-metre sprinter in the world, with a Canadian record of 11.91 seconds set last month in London. With no T13 200 metres event in Paris, Borgella will also contest the Open 200 metres alongside Gale.

Mid-Distance and Hurdles

Kevin Robertson and Stephen Evans, fresh off setting Club records, will be looking to improve upon their bronze medal performances from last year. Robertson recently ran the fastest 2000 metres by a Canadian in 34 years and enters the 3000 metres as the fifth seed with a time of 8:33.88. Evans, who set a Club record of 2:19.77 for 1000 metres, will leverage his powerful finishing kick in the 800 metres, aiming for a podium finish.

In the men’s 110-metre hurdles, all eyes will be on defending Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner. However, Lions fans will be closely watching David Adeleye, who aims to make the national podium for a second consecutive year. Adeleye, this year’s USports 60-metre hurdles runner-up, has a personal best of 13.84 seconds and is ranked third behind Warner and last year’s champion, Craig Thorne.

Promising Juniors

The junior ranks showcase a bright future, with several athletes poised for podium finishes this weekend.

Jorai Oppong-Nketiah, the youngest Lion at 16, missed the high school season due to a school transfer but set a new Canadian U18 record of 11.51 seconds last month in London. As the defending Canadian U16 champion, she tops the rankings heading into this weekend’s championship.

In the U20 men’s 400 metres, Zachary Jeggo, Stephan Balson, and William Sanders all surpassed the qualification standard. Jeggo leads with the second fastest performance in the nation (47.82), followed by Balson (48.27) and Sanders (48.64). Jeggo will also compete in the 400-metre hurdles, where he is the second fastest performer with a personal best of 52.97 seconds.

Quinn Coughlin is the top-ranked athlete in the U20 women’s 400-metre hurdles. After a fourth-place finish last year, she recently improved her lifetime best to 1:00.30 and aims to make the podium this weekend.

In the men’s 1500 metres, Nicolas Belan will battle for a top-two finish to secure his spot on the Canadian team for this year’s World U20 Championships. Belan set a personal best of 3:46.89 earlier this month in Hamilton.

Maddie Seaby, after an outstanding freshman season at the University of Louisville, is a medal contender in the U20 women’s 5000 metres. Her personal best of 16:35.43 ranks her second behind Alberta’s Chloe Turner.

Lastly, heptathlete Kathryn Moreland enters the U20 event ranked second in Canada. The second-year University of Ottawa student set a personal best of 4201 points at the Ottawa Spring Kick Start in May.

For live results from this year’s championship, visit Athletics Canada website. You can also catch all the action on AthleticsCanada.tv (subscription required).

(Montreal, Canada---21 June 2024) Kevin Robertson runs to win the elite 2000m steeplechase at the 2024 Classique d’Athletisme de Montreal. Photograph Copyright 2024 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Robertson and Evans re-write record book in final Olympic Trials tune up

by linkinbioNational

In a final tune up before this week’s Canadian Olympic Trials, Lions athletes put forward a string of remarkable performances at La Classique d’Athletisme de Montréal last Friday night leaving little doubt they are ready to take on the best the nation has to offer.

Kevin Robertson and Stephen Evans: Record-Breaking Performances

Racing in some off distance events, Kevin Robertson and Stephen Evans made the most of their opportunity to prove fitness and set the track on fire. The pair of defending national bronze medalists each bettered their own Club records  and showed they are primed and ready to roll at the Olympic Trials. 

Kevin Robertson’s race almost didn’t happen. When the Grand Prix event was moved from Centre Sportif Claude Robillard to the Ben Leduc Track in St. Laurent, the 2000 metre steeplechase was originally going to be cancelled, but thanks to some last minute manoeuvres fans were treated to the second fastest performance in Canadian history. 

Running well behind the leaders for nearly the entire race, Robertson bided his time before throwing the hammer down over the final three quarters of a lap. By the time he reached the final water jump, Robertson had closed the gap from 20 to less than 5 metres and quickly ran off to take the lead as he cleared the penultimate hurdle and sprinted for home. Robertson crossed the finish line in an eye-popping 5:29.27, obliterating his previous Club record of 5:47.55. The only faster Canadian is Graeme Fell’s 5:21.97 in 1990.

Stephen Evans became the first Lion to ever eclipse the 2:20 mark for 1000 metres Friday night as he took victory in Montreal in 2:19.77. The path to the top spot was equally impressive as the time itself. As Evans hit the bell in 1:23, he was overtaken by Olympian Charles Philibert-Thiboutot for top spot, but a powerful kick down the homestretch propelled the 27-year-old to victory and past his previous Club record set in January 2023.

Zach Jeggo and Quinn Coughlin: Rising Stars in the 400 metre hurdles

A pair of rising stars, Zach Jeggo and Quinn Coughlin, delivered standout performances in the 400 metre hurdles Friday night in Montreal – each improving their lifetime bests and demonstrating they are ready to compete with the best in the country at the national championships. 

Quinn Coughlin made an astonishing improvement, cutting more than a second and a half off her previous time as she crossed the line in a time of 1:00.30. Coughlin’s time currently ranks her second among U20 athletes in Canada and  catapulted her to 10th place on the Club’s all-time rankings.

Zach Jeggo, competing in the same event, secured third place with a time of 52.97. This remarkable run pushed Jeggo up to fifth on the Club’s U20 All-Time rankings and also sees him second nationally in the U20 category. 

Sydney Smith: Consistency in the 1000m

Sydney Smith continued her impressive form, running the second-fastest 1000 metre race of her career with a time of 2:43.13. Smith finished fifth overall among a field that included many of the same athletes she will go to battle with over 800 metres at the Trials.

Full results from La Classique are available on our website.

Photos from La Classique are available at MundoSportImages.com

Updated Club rankings are available at http://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

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Lions bring home 9 medals from Canadian Indoor Championships

by linkinbioNational

It was a small group that travelled to Montreal last weekend for the Canadian Indoor Track and Field Championships, but that didn’t stop them from bringing a large collection of medals back to Ottawa with them. In total, Lions athletes captured nine medals over the three day event with nearly half going to the Moreland family. 

Sisters Elizabeth and Kathryn Moreland combined for four medals in Montreal – all of them gold. They each topped their respective fields in the pentathlon on Saturday, a one day test over five events. Kathryn was victorious in the U20 category with a score of 3175 points while Elizabeth totalled 2703 to top the open category. Teammate Coralie Ostertag took home silver behind Elizabeth.

To round out a busy Saturday, all three athletes teamed up with Natalie Feberova, 5th in the U20 pentathlon, to capture top spot in the open women’s 4×200 metre event. 

Elizabeth rounded out her medal haul on the final day of competition with a gold in the high jump. She cleared a height of 1.53 metres for gold, beating out Dynamique de Laval’s Samira Yao by three centimetres.

Two other Lions athletes found their way onto the podium Saturday evening with both Leewinchell Jean and Brooklyn McCormick garnering silver medals in their respective events. 

Competing in the open 60 metre hurdles, Jean lost a tight battle for gold with Durham Legion’s Ashton Colaire. His time of 8.25 seconds, the second fastest time of his season, was just five hundredth’s back of the winner. 

McCormick culminated a long indoor season with national silver at 800 metres. The graduate student at the University of Toronto finished in 2:20.59, beaten to the line by 2020 Olympian Reagan Yee in a tactical affair.

The final day of the Championship saw the Lions add the final two medals to their collection. Nicolas Belan, who has had a very strong indoor season, closed things out with a silver in U20 1500 metres. In a quintessential championship 1500, the 18-year-old lost in a quick to the line with London Western’s Liam Smith, 4:01.30 to 4:01.45. 

Balqis Chouikhi took home the final medal of the Championship as she cleared a height of 2.85 metres in the pole vault to take silver in the U18 event. Chouikhi’s medal is the first national medal for a Lions vaulter since Caroline Poirier also won silver at the 2018 Canadian U20 Championships. 

Full results from the Championship are available on our website.

Updated Club rankings can be found at https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

(Windsor, Canada---23 February 2024) David Adeleye competing on Day 1 of the 2024 OUA Track And Field Championships in the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Windsor. Copyright 2024 Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Adeleye sets Club U23 record at USports Championship

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

When David Adeleye opened up the 2024 USports Track and Field Championships by equalling his Club U23 record in the 60 metre hurdles, we knew we were in for something special. An hour later the fourth year kinesiology student at the University of Toronto stepped back on the track inside the Jim Daly Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Manitoba and did not disappoint. 

Adeleye crossed the line in blistering time of 7.83 seconds in the final to take home the silver medal – an upgrade from the bronze he won in 2022. As well, his time again set another Club U23 record and also moved David to fourth all-time among Canadian U23 hurdlers.

Toronto teammate Paulina Procyk also found her way into a hurdle final on Friday night. Unfortunately for the fourth year kinesiology student, her finals experience did not produce a similar result. After posting the second fastest time of her career (8.69) to make the final, Procyk ran into hurdle three and ended with a DNF beside her name.

In the field, a pair of throwers from Carleton did not disappoint at the national championships. Graduate student Briana Asiamah kicked things off Friday by matching her pre-event ranking with a fifth place finish. It was Asiamah’s highest finish in three appearances at the championship as she put the 4 kilogram ball out to a distance of 12.97 metres. 

The Gee-Gees Jessica Gyamfi finished eighth with a best throw of 11.93 metres

On the men’s side, Connor Fraser continued to do what he has done all season – break records. Fraser’s throw of 15.35 metres bested his own school record by eight centimetres as he placed sixth overall to move up one spot from his pre-event rankings. The second year criminology student broke the Ravens shot put record a total of four times over his eight meet season. 

A quartet of Gee-Gees narrowly missed a school record of their own. The 4×200 metre relay team of Katie Manor, Emma Martins, Doyin Ogunremi, and Bianca Borgella posted a scorching time of 1:41.88 to nab the eighth and final qualifying spot out of Thursday’s heats. Their performance was just seven hundredths of a second off the existing school record set in 2016. The team was unable to improve on their time in the final and would finish eighth overall.

Also in the women’s 4×200 metre relay, Charlotte Murchison was a member of York University’s team that placed sixth while Audrey Gilmour ran the third leg for McGill as they finished seventh.

Other Lions results from the USports Championship included:

  • Brooklyn McCormick (Toronto) 4x800m – 9:04.06 (7th)
  • Katie Manor (Ottawa) 60m – 7.60 (9th)
  • Brooklyn McCormick (Toronto) 4x400m – 3:53.17 (10th)
  • Lizzy Vroom (Queen’s) 4x800m – 9:05.96 (10th)
  • Doyin Ogunremi (Ottawa) 300m – 40.17 (11th)
  • Kathryn Moreland, Sia Mahajan, Kennedy Banton-Lindsay, Doyin Ogunremi (Ottawa) 4x400m – 3:54.99 (12th)
  • Nolan Legare (Queen’s) 4x800m – 8:08.65 (12th)

Full results from the championship can be found on our website.

Updated rankings are also available:

Ottawa Lions
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees
Carleton University Ravens

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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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Gale sets new Canadian standard at Ravens Last Chance Meet

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

She’s done it again folks! For the fourth time in her career, Lauren Gale is the holder of a Canadian record. This time it’s at 300 metres. 

Gale, who previously set Canadian indoor standards at 200 and 400 metres as well as the 4×400 metre relay during the 2022 season, closed out her 2024 indoor campaign with an eye popping 36.48 second 300 metre run to obliterate the rest of the field at the Ravens Last Chance Meet at the Dome @ Louis-Riel. 

The Tokyo Olympian appeared primed for a big performance after dropping a massive personal best of 7.46 seconds over 60 metres in the lead up to the 300. Gale’s time in the short sprint was the fourth fastest in Club history. 

Ladonna Antoine set the previous Canadian best over 300 metres of 36.64 seconds in Brisbane during a tune up meet for the Sydney Olympics. Gale was nine months old at the time.

While Gale’s mark of 36.48 was set indoors at the Louis-Riel Dome, it will not count as a Canadian Indoor Record due to the oversized length of the Dome’s track. 

A number of other Lions enjoyed success over 300 metres Saturday. Chief among them was the second place finisher behind Gale, Victoria McIntyre, who also booked a ticket on the PB-train. McIntyre crossed the line in a time of 38.66 seconds, dropping nearly four tenths of a second off her previous best to move to equal number five in Club history. Like Gale, McIntyre’s all-time performance came in the wake of a personal best over 60 metres (7.69).

Doyin Ogunremi placed third behind her two club mates at 300 metres – finishing in 38.73 seconds. The fourth year Health Science student’s performance set a new standard for the University of Ottawa, besting the previous standard of 39.29 set by Christianne Lela in 2008. Ogunremi’s performance was also the seventh fastest in Club history. 

Rounding out the notable 300 metre performances was Jorai Oppong-Nketiah. The grade 10 student recorded a personal best of 40.51 seconds to move to tenth on the Club’s U18 girls list. 

With his victory at 1000 metres, Nicolas Belan made people sit up and take notice. The 18-year-old took home the victory in an impressive clocking of 2 minutes and 26.88 seconds. Belan’s performance was not only a meet record, but broke the Dome’s U20 record and moved him to fourth on the Club’s all-time U20 list and tenth on the Open list. 

Rounding out the action, Adelle McLeod continued to rewrite the Carleton University record books. For the second time in as many competitions, the first year student leapt her way to new records in the long jump (5.13m) and triple jump (11.18m).

Varsity programs will return to action this Friday as they kick off conference championships in Windsor (uOttawa) and Quebec City (Carleton).

For full results from the Ravens Last Chance Meet, please visit our results page.

Photos from the event can be found on Mundo Sports Images.

Updated rankings are also available:

Ottawa Lions
University of Ottawa Gee-Gees
Carleton University Ravens

(Ottawa, Canada---25 November 2023) Nina Gunther and Shona McCulloch races in the open women’s championship race at the 2023 Athletics Canada Canadian Cross Country Championships held at Mooney’s Bay, Ottawa. Photograph Copyright 2023 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Lions take home national medals on home course

by linkinbioNational

They say all good things must come to an end. This sentiment held true as Saturday marked the conclusion of a three-year hosting swing for the Canadian Cross Country Championships at Mooney’s Bay Park. It also signaled the relinquishment of the national Under-18 girls team title.

Despite the absence of the familiar banner, the atmosphere on this warmer-than-usual late November Saturday buzzed with excitement.

Leading the charge were our small yet formidable group of masters athletes who secured a pair of podium finishes. In the Women’s 55-59 category, Liz Maguire clinched a silver medal in the 8-kilometer event. Last year’s champion, Maguire, finished a mere ten seconds behind BC’s Alita Dommann, who completed the race in 33 minutes and 18 seconds. Notably, Dommann had secured the gold in the 50-54 category in 2022.

Two weeks after our Men’s 30-34 team earned a provincial silver, the trio of Jay Sneddon, Sam Shi, and Gilles Frenette added another silver at the Canadian Championships. While Sneddon and Shi claimed the fifth and seventh spots in the category, the team’s third scorer, Frenette, secured the 21st position in the Men’s 45-49 category. This team medal marked a significant achievement, being the first by a Club masters team since 2016.

Maddie Seaby showcased an outstanding performance, finishing 11th overall in the U20 Women’s race. A freshman at the University of Louisville, Seaby completed the 6-kilometer course in 22 minutes and 35 seconds, concluding a remarkable fall season of cross-country running.

Following back-to-back national championships, the Under-18 girls team handed over their well-earned crown on Saturday. Led by Lauren Alexander and her 26th place finish, the Lion ladies secured the eighth position overall. Other notable scorers included Kyra Lauter (68th), Laila Lebel (74th), and Kate Johnston-Zemek (79th).

Alexander did not leave empty-handed on the day. Running as part of the provincial team, the Glebe student contributed to Ontario’s third-place finish in the branch competition.

Another Glebe student, Saul Taler, joined in the provincial team success. His 43rd place finish in the Under-18 boys race played a crucial role in Ontario’s gold medal victory. On the Club level, Taler, along with Noah Smith (63rd), Russell Heins (74th), and Charlie Mortimer (81st), propelled the Lions to a top-10 finish.

Additional noteworthy performances on Saturday included Nina Günther, securing the 38th position in the Open Women’s race, and Kyle Porter’s 41st place finish in the Under-20 Men’s event.

Full results from the Canadian Championships are available on Sport Stats

Photos from the Canadian Championship can be found on the Mundo Sport Images website

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OTTAWA LIONS CELEBRATES COACH YOLANDE JONES-GRANDE’S PETRO-CANADA COACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD

by linkinbioNational

The Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club is thrilled to extend its heartfelt congratulations to Coach Yolande Jones-Grande on receiving the prestigious Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award. The award ceremony took place last Friday night at the Sport Leadership Conference in Calgary, Alberta, where Coach Jones-Grande was recognized for her outstanding coaching achievements, particularly in guiding athlete Bianca Borgella to a remarkable double-medal performance at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championship.

The Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award is a testament to Coach Jones-Grande’s dedication, expertise, and significant contributions to the success of her athletes on the international stage. Presented annually at the Sport Leadership Conference by the Coaching Association of Canada and Petro-Canada, this award recognizes coaches whose athletes have excelled at world championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Special Olympics World Games.

The Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club takes immense pride in Coach Jones-Grande’s accomplishments, as she joins the ranks of esteemed coaches within the club, including Glenroy Gilbert and Ian Clarke, who have previously received this prestigious award. The Sport Leadership Conference in Calgary provided a fitting stage to acknowledge Coach Jones-Grande’s coaching excellence before her peers and fellow leaders in the Canadian sports community.

Coach Yolande Jones-Grande’s recognition highlights the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club’s commitment to fostering a culture of excellence and achievement. The Club looks forward to the continued success of athletes under Coach Jones-Grande’s guidance and remains dedicated to supporting coaches who play a crucial role in shaping the future of Canadian athletics.

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/

(Langley, Canada---28 July 2023) Zachary Jeggo competing on day two of the Canadian Track and Field Championships at the MacLeod Athletic Park Stadium. Copyright 2023 Miles Ryan Rowat/ Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Oppong-Nketiah and Jeggo highlight 8 medal haul from Legion Nationals

by linkinbioNational

It’s been 45 years since the Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field Championships started with their first event in Oromocto, New Brunswick. From those first championships in 1977 through today, Lions athletes have amassed an impressive 185 medals including 72 golds. 

At the latest iteration, held this past weekend at the University of Sherbrooke, Lions athletes added eight more medals to the collection. 

Completing a feat never accomplished by any Lions female sprinter, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah swept the 100 and 200 metre sprint events at the Legion Championships. Coming off a commanding win over 100 metres at the Ontario Championships the week before, Jorai was the event favourite and she did not disappoint – taking gold in 12.07 seconds.

Unlike her previous two championship performances of the summer, Oppong-Nketiah contested the 200 metres and quickly ran away from the competition. After producing a personal best of 24.68 seconds in the heats, Jorai topped off her competition with a 24.65 second effort in the final. Her performance ranks as the second fastest among U16 females in Club history. 

After just falling short of the podium at the Canadian Under-20 Championships last month, Zachary Jeggo found his way to the national podium on three occasions in Sherbrooke. Individually, new personal bests at both the flat 400 and 400 metre hurdles catapulted the Louis-Riel student to silver medals. 

Jeggo’s time of 55.33 in the hurdle event is the fastest ever by a Club member in the U18 age category, while his 48.60 second run in the flat 400 ranks him third. Of course, he still has another year ahead of him to get that record as well.

In addition to the individual exploits, Jeggo’s fast legs also helped the U18 boys team of Safwan El Mansari, William Sanders and Erick Zielonka capture silver in the 4×400 metre event. The quartet finished in a time of 3:22.15 to best the Club U18 record set by El Mansari, Sanders, Jeggo and Timeo Atonfo earlier this summer. 

Similar to Jeggo, Quinn Coughlin also picked up a pair of medals at the Legion Championships after a pair of fourth place finishes at the U20 Championships. The Opeongo student captured bronze in both of the 400 and 400 metre hurdle events with times of 57.11 and 1:02.84 respectively. 

A year removed from a registration error that kept Timeo Atonfo off the start list in the long jump, the Gisele-Lalonde student showed the country just what they were missing out on as he took home the silver medal in the U18 event. A third round effort of 6.89 metres surpassed his previous best heading into the event and leaves him ranked fifth all-time in the Club in the U18 category. 

Full results from the championship are available at: https://ottawalions.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023_Legion_National_Results.pdf

Updated Club rankings are available at: https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/