Bianca_Borgella_ACTF23_100m

Borgella wins silver; Eight Lions advance to national final

by linkinbioNational

Friday night at the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, BC was headlined by the 100 metre finals and Bianca Borgella was one of the stars of the evening. 

Fresh off a pair of medals at the World Para Athletics Championship, Borgella was lined up against fellow Team Canada athletes Marissa Papaconstantinou and Shariauna Haase in the para ambulatory section. The University of Ottawa student was in command of the race from the gun, crossing the line in a time of 12.14 seconds. 

To fairly determine the standings in the para ambulatory event, each athlete is graded against the Raza Points Table to standardise performances across disabilities.  

While Borgella was first across the line, she took home the silver as her score was 14 points behind Papaconstantinou’s, who competes with a prosthetic limb. 

Beyond the sprint final, Friday’s competition was all a game of “survive and advance” for the Lions. In total, eight athletes advanced to national finals on Saturday.

Starting with the sprint hurdles in the morning, Keira Christie-Galloway comfortably won her heat in a time of 13.36 seconds to qualify third fastest to the final. It was an identical result for David Adeleye as he won his heat in 14.09.

Next to qualify were a pair of U18 athletes running up at their first U20 national championship. 

Zachary Jeggo was quick to prove he belonged among his older counterparts, unleashing a massive personal best time of 48.78 seconds for 400 metres to earn the second automatic qualifying spot out of his heat. Jeggo’s performance moved him to number three all-time in the Club for U18 athletes. 

Running out of lane eight, Quinn Coughlin executed her game plan and also earned her spot in the U20 400 metre final via a second place finish. The Opeongo student crossed the line in a time of 57.29 – the fourth fastest among all qualifiers. 

Also at 400 metres, Lauren Gale was the top finisher in her heat with a time of 52.41 to advance. 

After missing out on the national championship final a year ago, 800 metre runners Stephen Evans and Sydney Smith were poised to right the wrong Friday night. 

Evans, who recently broke the Club record at the distance, looked in full control throughout the two lap race, nabbing the second auto qualifier in his heat with a 1:48.54 clocking. 

Meanwhile, Smith had a different path to Saturday’s final. Finding herself in a tightly contested battle, the Ontario champion escaped a pair of near falls as she placed fourth in the first of two semi-finals with a time of 2 minutes and 6.32 seconds. After a short wait on pins and needles, Smith’s spot was confirmed as the fastest non-automatic qualifier. 

Last into the finals was Lizzy Vroom. The U20 steeplechase silver medalist got through to the 1500 metre final as one of the four non-automatic qualifiers. Vroom finished in a time of 4 minutes and 38.14 seconds. 

Friday also featured the culmination of the two day heptathlon with two Lions in action. Kathryn Moreland recorded a score of 3710 points to place ninth – a personal best by 101 points for the 18-year-old. Teammate Ella Durno placed 12th with 3139 points. 

You can watch the championships live on AthleticsCanada.tv or follow the live results at https://live.athletics.ca/meets/26525

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Steeplechasers lead Lions to two medals on day one of Canadian Championships

by linkinbioNational

The 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships kicked off with a bang Thursday – quite literally. Distance night at the championships featured rhythmic drummers along with some illuminating pyrotechnics to encourage and celebrate the runners in the 3000 metre steeplechase and 5000 metre events. 

Among those being celebrated were a pair of Lions in Kevin Robertson and Elizabeth Vroom who brought home the Club’s first medals of the Championship. Each took a different route to the podium. 

Robertson, who finished in 8 minutes and 37.94 seconds, bided his time for the majority of the race as he nestled in to fifth. That all changed when the bell rang to signal one lap to go. The NCAA All-American immediately took off, surging past Olympian John Gay within 20 metres, but would need to wait until the final barrier before he was able to move past British Columbia’s Cole Disdale and sprint his way to his first senior national medal. 

It was a silver medal in 10 minutes and 45.46 seconds for the defending U20 women’s steeplechase champion, Vroom. Unlike Robertson, the Queen’s University student ran to the front of the pack right from the gun. She was quite content to stay there even after momentarily relinquishing the lead after a mid race fall in the water pit. However, as the event progressed, the Calgary Spartans’ Sorcha Shiu was able to use her 2:05 800 metre speed to move past Vroom for gold. 

Earlier in the day, Gavin Redwood-Wheeler placed sixth in the U20 men’s discus with a best throw of 43.67 metres. Teammate Connor Fraser placed ninth at 39.40 metres.

In qualifying, four Lions advanced into their respective event semi-finals. Bertwin Ben-Smith (senior men), Doyin Ogunremi (senior women) and Koree Yach (U20 women) all advanced in the 400 metres, while Victoria McIntyre moved on in the senior women’s 100 metres. 

You can watch the championships live on AthleticsCanada.tv or follow the live results at https://live.athletics.ca/meets/26525

(Langley, British Columbia ---24 June 2022) Elizabeth Vroom competing on day three of the Canadian Track and Field Championships at McLeod Athletic Park. Photograph 2022 Copyright Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images

Lions set to take on nation in Langley

by linkinbioNational

What seemed like an eternity away back in September of 2022 has finally arrived. After countless hours of mental and physical preparation the time has come to shine on the brightest of domestic stage as the 2023 Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships kick off Thursday morning in Langley, BC. A total of 47 Lions are set to compete over the four-day competition for Senior, Para and Under-20 athletes. 

Athletes will be pushing to improve upon last year’s performance where the Lions took home a total of 19 medals across the three championship categories including a Canadian Club Record in the women’s 4×400 metre relay.

Four individual medalists from 2022 return to Langley including two defending champions – Bianca Borgella and Elizabeth Vroom. 

Fresh off her two-medal performance at the World Para Athletics Championships earlier this month, Borgella will be a favourite to repeat her two-gold performance from a year ago. The 20-year-old, who competes in the T13 category for visual impairment, will be contesting the para-ambulatory 100 and 200 metres this weekend. She enters both competitions with the top seed. 

Vroom dominated last year’s field in the U20 women’s 3000 metre steeplechase and will be looking to become the first Lion to defend a U20 championship since 2013 when Adam Palamar won his second straight 1500 metre title. The Queen’s University student is well positioned, coming off a commanding steeplechase victory at the Ontario U20 Championships and holds the fastest qualifying performance entering the competition. 

A pair of silver medalists from last year in Lauren Gale and Audrey Goddard will also be looking to return to the podium this weekend. 

Gale, whose silver came over 400 metres a year ago, will contest both the 200 and 400 metres in Langley. The member of last year’s World Championship team enters ranked second and fifth respectively in the two events this season. 

For Goddard a return to Langley may have looked out of the cards earlier this season. The 19-year-old heptathlete suffered a broken collarbone in the spring, and only returned to competition this month. While having not contested a combined event competition since the USports Championship, she remains a medal contender. 

Looking to make a splash on the national stage is Conner Fraser. Competing in his first Canadian Championship, the 19-year-old thrower is a force to be reckoned with in both the shot put and discus throw after a pair of recent personal bests catapulted him to the top of the podium at the Ontario Championships. Fraser’s performances two weeks ago have him ranked second nationally entering this weekend’s championship.

A handful of senior athletes are looking to make a splash on the national scene. 

One week removed from his victory at the NACAC U23 Track and Field Championships, Kevin Robertson will contest the 3000 metre steeplechase in his first nationals since winning the U20 title in 2019. A student at Syracuse University, Robertson set the Club U23 record earlier this season with a time of 8 minutes and 37.26 seconds. He enters the competition ranked fifth.

Also competing at nationals for the first time since 2019 is Keira Christie-Galloway. The 23-year-old posted a personal best of 13.01 seconds earlier this season to win the 100 metre hurdles at the Western Athletic Conference Championship. Her performance has her ranked third entering the competition. 

Finally, Stephen Evans will be hunting for the elusive national medal. The former USports champion is coming off a Club record of 1:47.16 for 800 metres less than two weeks ago in Victoria. Evans enters as the fifth seed with a third just two tenths ahead. 

You can catch all of this weekend’s action live on AthleticsCanada.tv and follow live results at live.athletics.ca.

Of course, stay tuned to ottawalions.com and all our social media accounts to keep up with every Lions related over the course of the weekend. 

(Windsor, Canada---24 June 2023) Ottawa Lions team photo at the 2023 Johnny Loaring Classic held at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario. Photograph Copyright 2023 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Lions bring home medals and personal bests from Johnny Loaring Classic

by linkinbioNational

The distance from the Terry Fox Athletic Facility to the Windsor’s Alumni Stadium measures a touch under 800 kilometres. When you’re driving home, the surest way to make that trip seem a little shorter is by bringing home some top notch performances with. That’s just what the group of 17 Lions competing at this past weekend’s Johnny Loaring Classic did.

Combined, the Lions registered an impressive 12 seasonal bests, 7 personal bests and 3 all-time top 10 performances. 

Victoria McIntyre kicked the meet off in style by placing third in the open section of the women’s 100 metres. More importantly was McIntyre’s time of 12.02 seconds which erased a tenth of a second off her 10-year old personal best. 

However, that performance was simply an appetizer to the main event that was the open section of the women’s 200 metres, where McIntyre dominated the field – winning in a blazing time of 23.77 seconds. After dipping under the 24 second barrier for the first time, the 28-year-old sprinter rocketed up five spots to number five on the Club’s all-time list. 

With her performance on Saturday, McIntyre is currently ranked 17th in the country over 200 metres and she has some company on those national rankings. 

Lauren Gale moved atop the national ranking Saturday following her win in the elite section of the women’s 200 metres. Club record holder in the event, Gale produced a seasonal best time of 23.17 seconds to take the win. The 2021 Olympian also produced a seasonal best effort of 11.69 seconds in the heats of the elite 100 metres before posting a windy 11.60 clocking to finish third in the final.

It was a windy 100 metre final for Bianca Borgella, but that didn’t stop the visually impaired runner from taking top spot in the para ambulatory section. Borgella equalled her personal best time of 12.12 seconds in victory, but unfortunately for her the tail wind exceeded the allowable two metres per second. 

A pair of personal best performances came out of the men’s and women’s 400 metre hurdle events. Alexandra Telford trimmed more than half a second off her previous best in the event as she placed fifth in a time of 58.74 seconds. She remains in fourth place on the Club’s all-time rankings.

David Moulongou’s hurdle performance on Saturday pushed him inside the top-10 rankings. The University of Ottawa student-athlete crossed the line in a time of 52.52 seconds to place eighth in a strong field that saw three men dip under 50 seconds. Moulongou’s time is the eighth fastest ever in the Club for the one lap hurdle race. 

Back-to-back personal bests was what was on the menu Saturday afternoon for André Alie-Lamarche. The middle distance runner ran his second successive personal best at 1500 metres, as he took the top spot in the open men’s section in an impressive time of 3 minutes and 47.60 seconds. Alie-Lamarche, coming off a personal best effort of 3:48.10 three days prior at the Inferno, now moves into 22nd on a very deep Club 1500 metre list.

Finally, Maria Okwechime took third place in the elite women’s long jump. Despite incurring a small hamstring irritation in the warm, Okwechime did manage to leap out to a distance of 5.85 metres – the second farthest distance of her career.

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

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/

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Senechal-Becker ascends national podium

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

Despite a new personal best and school record of 2.17 metres, it was clear University of Ottawa Gee-Gees high jumper Thomas Senechal-Becker was left yearning for gold following the OUA Championships. However, at the USports Championships in Saskatoon this past weekend the second year student got exactly what he was yearning for – a national title. 

The road to the top of the podium did not go nearly as smoothly as originally envisioned as Senechal-Becker came down with what he believes was a severe stomach flu three days before Friday night’s high jump final. The ailment forced Senechal-Becker to alter his game day routines to conserve energy, and thankfully making first attempt clearances on all of his heights helped as he made it over 2.14 metres to take top spot. The performance ranks as his second best in a Gee-Gees uniform.

Garnering her first USports medal was Vanessa Lu Langley. The third year chemical engineering student at McGill University ran third leg on the Martlet’s 4×200 metre team as they finished second in a time of 1:41.47. It was the first nationals medal in the event for the Montreal based school

Elsewhere on the track, David Adeleye found himself just off the podium in the 60 metre hurdles. The third year student at the University of Toronto left a trail of barriers in his pathway as he finished fourth in a time of 8.18 seconds. Leewinchell Jean, competing for the Windsor Lancers, just missed out on a spot in the final – finishing 10th in a time of 8.33 seconds. 

Competing in one of the most gruelling events of the weekend, Audrey Goddard placed seventh in the five event pentathlon with a score of 3458 points. The OUA Rookie of the Year was the highest finishing first year student in the event. 

The weekend ended on a high note for Carleton’s Adam Nuraddeen in the triple jump. Qualifying by virtue of his victory at the RSEQ Championships, Nuraddeen entered Saturday’s event as the lowest seed with a best performance of 13.61 metres. However, the fourth year psychology student popped a massive 29 centimetre personal best to break the sand at 13.90 metres. The jump would push the Ravens record holder to a new school record and an eighth place finish in his first USports Championship. 

Other results for Lions athletes from the weekend included:

Gillian Porter and Elizabeth Vroom (Queen’s) 4x800m – 9:11.40 9th

Katie Manor (uOttawa) 60m – 7.66 11th

David Moulongou, Fabrice Nonez,Thomas Kukla-Colby, Lucas Zanetti (uOttawa) 4x400m – 3:23.39 10th

Katie Manor, Doyin Ogunremi, Brooklyn McCormick, Kennedy Banton-Lindsay (uOttawa) 4x400m – 3:56.37 12th

For full results from the USports Championship, visit our results page.

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

Masters athletes take home 14 medals from Canadian Championship

by linkinbioNational

The indoor season came to a close yesterday for masters athletes across the country with the conclusion of the two day Canadian Championships at York University. Before all was said and done on the track and in the field, Lions athletes walked away with a total of 14 medals including six gold.

Leading the way was Stan Seitz and his double gold performance in the men’s 75 and over high jump and pole vault. Seitz equalled his Ontario M75 record in the high jump with his clearance of 1.25 metres on Sunday. On Saturday, Seitz brought his career total of national indoor pole vault titles to an even five as he vaulted up and over 2.30 metres to win by nearly a metre. 

Kimberley Howitt, who was the Club’s top masters athlete in 2022, picked up a resounding victory in the W35 800 metre event. Howitt’s time of 2 minutes and 30.47 seconds nearly 21 seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Nova Scotia. Howitt also added a silver in the 400m. 

Howitt’s victory at 800 metres was part of a three gold medal haul in the event with Fritzlor Auguste and Michael Conway each taking top spot in the M30 and M35 categories respectively. Fritzor also added a silver in the 1500 metres, while Conway picked up a silver at 400 metres.

The final victory from the weekend came from the second youngest masters competitor from the Club, Jay Sneddon. The 30-year-old produced a 9 minutes and 43.52 second effort to take top spot in the 3000 metres. Younger teammate Sam Shi was second in 9:45.20.

It took one of the world’s fastest masters runners to defeat Wendy Alexis in the 50 and 60 metre events on the weekend. Alexis, a 25-time Canadian Masters champion indoors and out, took silver in times of 7.89 and 9.25 seconds respectively behind her best friend and world record holder Karla del Grande. 

Also reaching the podium in Toronto were Gilles Frenette and Mike McInerney. Frenette won a silver in the M45 800 metres while McInerney finished second in the M55 3000 metres.

Full results are available at: https://ottawalions.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_CMA_Indoor_Results.pdf

(Ottawa, Canada---26 November 2022) Jay Sneddon (1586-- MAXCXS) competing in the 2022 Athletics Canada Cross Country Championships. Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Ryan / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Ottawa to host 2023 Canadian Cross Country Championships

by linkinbioNational

Athletics Canada is pleased to announce that the 2023 Canadian Cross-Country Championships, known in short as ACXC, will take place at Mooney’s Bay and Terry Fox Athletic Facility, in Ottawa, for the second consecutive year.

The Athletics Canada Competition Committee has decided to return to Mooney’s Bay’s hilly course, following an athlete, coach and volunteer survey that gave the 2022 event a ranking of 8.8/10 for its level of participation, organization, scheduling and course quality. This year’s edition will take place on Saturday, November 25.

“After an outstanding 2022 Championships held under clear skies and relatively warm temperatures, we are thrilled to return to Ottawa and the course at Mooney’s Bay,” said Chris Winter, Director of Domestic Programs and Safe Sport at Athletics Canada. “We heard it loud and clear from our athletes, coaches, and spectators that the course, organization, atmosphere, and competition in Ottawa was first rate and we are eager to build on that success to deliver an even better Championships in 2023.”

Once again this year, the Ottawa Lions and Run Ottawa will work in tandem with Athletics Canada to host the event. Ian Fraser, executive director at Run Ottawa, said his team was proud of last year’s championship weekend, but is preparing to outdo itself this November.

“We listened to participant feedback from 2021 (when we hosted in Wesley Clover Parks) and made the 2022 experience memorable for them,” he said. “We are very excited about the Championships returning to Ottawa for 2023 and we’re looking forward to building on last year’s success!”

The news was also well-received by Ottawa Tourism, as President and CEO Michael Crockatt said the organization was honoured to once again welcome the country’s largest cross-country championship.

“As the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is proud to once again play host to such a prestigious event and to showcase our city’s world-class facilities, vibrant culture, and warm hospitality,” he said. “We look forward to welcoming back Canada’s most talented runners and their families, and we are confident that they will have an unforgettable experience and will leave with unforgettable memories.”

The 2023 Championships will be the third of five Canadian Championships to be held in a six year span with the Lions set to also host the 2025 and 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

(Ottawa, Canada---26 November 2022) Ottawa Lions U18 Girls competing in the 2022 Athletics Canada Cross Country Championships. Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Ryan / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

U18 Girls Win Back-to-Back Championship; Maguire Takes Masters Gold

by linkinbioNational

With Ottawa playing host to the Canadian Cross Country Championships for the second year in a row, many things were a little bit different in the sequel. Along with the move from Wesley Clover Park to Mooney’s Bay, the most welcome change yesterday had to have been the balmy temperatures which peaked around seven degrees centigrade in the afternoon – nearly 20 degrees warmer than in 2021. However, one important consistency remained – the Lions U18 girls team were crowned national champions for the second year in a row.

After a narrow one point victory of the University of Toronto Track Club a year ago, the U18 girls enjoyed a 30 point cushion over second place South Simcoe Dufferin on Saturday. For the second year in a row Amelia Van Brabant led the charge for the Lions, finishing 18th overall in a time of 16 minutes and 1 second on the four kilometre course. Jocelyn Giannotti was the second scorer, finishing four spots behind Van Brabant in 22nd –  50 places up from her 2021 finish. The top four scorers were rounded out by Louise Stonham and Quinn Coughlin, who placed 46th and 50th respectively. 

The team victory is the 12th national team title in the Club’s history and the U18 girls become only the second team to ever repeat as national champions. The U20 men’s team won back-to-back titles 30 years ago. 

Both U20 teams posted top-5 results – a marked improvement over 2021 where the women did not field a team and the men placed eighth. 

Led by USports Rookie of the Year Elizabeth Vroom, the U20 women were fifth with 187 points. Vroom, a first year student at Queen’s University, placed 20th – covering the six kilometre course in 24 minutes and six seconds. Gillian Porter crossed the line in 25:24 to finish 38th overall, while Grace Munro and Aria MacDonald rounded out the scorers for the Lions in 61st and 68th respectively. 

Zachary Sikka was the top finisher for the U20 men, placing 33rd overall in a time of 28:02 over the eight kilometre course. Max Benda (44th), Frédéric Parent (49th), and Kyle Porter (53rd) rounded out the scorers for the Lions as the team amassed 179 points – 66 points better than in 2021. 

Just missing the top-five was the U18 boys team as they amassed 251 points to finish sixth overall. Kiefer Melinz Dupuis was the top scorer as he placed 30th overall in the six kilometre race. With no U16 race at the national level, Saul Taler and Daniel Cova each raced up a category as they were the second and third scorers for the team in 46th and 71st respectively. Nicolas Belan rounded out the team’s scoring in 104th place. 

In one of the tightest spreads of the whole day, the Open Men’s team placed seventh overall for the second year in a row. Scorers Adrian Fournier, André Alie-Lamarche, Robert Mitchell, and Nic Roberts all finished within five spots of each other. Fournier topped the group, crossing the line 49th in a time of 33:11. 

In the masters competition, Liz Maguire took top spot in the women’s 55-59 category. The 56-year old finished the eight kilometre course in a time of 34 minutes and 54 seconds – more than a minute and a half ahead of second place. Fritzlor Auguste picked up a silver medal in the men’s 30-34 category, finishing in 32 minutes and 11 seconds. 

For complete results from the championship as well as photos from the event, please visit our results page.

(Ottawa, Canada --- 01 June 2022) David Moulongou competing at the Ottawa Summer Twilight Series Meet #2 . Photograph Copyright 2022 Miles Rowat / Mundo Sport Images Please tag @mundosportimages if posting on social media

Lions put on show to remember at Canada Games

by linkinbioNational

Just five years ago, the Ottawa Lions had no athletes competing at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg. It was the first time it had happened in the 43 year history of the Club. As the athletics portion of this year’s Games in Niagara wrapped up this afternoon, only one thought comes to mind, “My how things have changed!”.

An impressive six current Lions donned the red and white of Team Ontario at the Games, combining to bring home five medals – equalling the total captured by the 2009 Lions in Charlottetown. 

The four days of competition at the new Canada Games Park in Thorold has been a bit of a coming out party for 400 metre hurdler David Moulongou. The University of Ottawa student, who was only introduced to the one lap hurdles race this year, put the country on notice with his silver medal in Friday’s final. 

Moulongou has proven he performs his best when it matters most this season. First he ran a personal best to win the trials and qualify for the team back in early July. On Friday, he chopped 1.99 seconds off the lifetime best to win his silver medal. David came into the Games with the goal to “finally be able to ‘click’ and showcase the talent that has remained ‘potential,’ as a result of being new to my event.” Two words – mission accomplished!

If one medal wasn’t enough for the 19-year-old Moulongou, he teamed up with fellow Lion and 400 metre hurdler, Luca Nicoletti, to help Team Ontario to a bronze in the 4×400 metre relay today. The pair ran the opening to legs, as Ontario finished in 3:11.90 – just 0.11 seconds behind Quebec. 

Another hurdler, David Adeleye, also put on a show when it mattered most. The University of Toronto student ran his third personal best in just over 10 days when he took home the silver in the 110 metre hurdles on Saturday afternoon. Adeleye’s time of 14.03 seconds took a full tenth of a second off his previous best, set at the final Twilight of the season and gets him closer to becoming only the third Lion to break the 14 second barrier. 

Before his individual glory though came team gold. Adeleye ran lead off for Ontario’s 4×100 metre relay team in the heats before being replaced in the final, where Ontario won by three tenths of a second over British Columbia. 

For thrower Tommy Nedow, the Games’ marked the end of a very long season that has seen the Brockville native compete more than 40 times this year. However, the 24-year-old managed to end his season with a pair of bronze medals as he took home bronze in both the shot put and discus. For good measure, he added a fifth place finish in the hammer throw as well. 

Sprinter Doyin Ogunremi competed right near her lifetime bests all week, but fell just short of the podium. After a fourth place finish in the open 400 metre found her just 35 hundredths off the podium, she was met with nearly the identical fate in the relay. Despite a strong 55.2 second anchor leg, Ogunremi was half step behind the Team BC runner as Ontario missed the podium by four tenths in 3:41.51.

While there was much success for current Lions on the track, the Club’s story at the Games does not end there. Team Ontario also featured two former Lions Madison McLean and Jonathan Rioux, while Will Cox represented Nova Scotia, where he is attending university. 

McLean had the perfect meet as she took top spot in the javelin and also set a new personal best of 47.84 metres in the process. On the track, Cox and Rioux battled it out in the 3000 metre steeplechase as the pair finished fifth and sixth respectively. The separation between the two – just two hundredths of a second.

Away from the track, current heptathlete Audrey Goddard is representing Ontario on the volleyball court. Goddard and her teammates are set to square off against Quebec on Sunday to determine fifth place in the tournament. 

Other former Lions in action in the Games included Lucy Hempstead, and sisters Amelia and Zoe Wojtyk. 

Hempstead, who gave up her sprint spikes for cycling shoes after the 2020 season, was champion in the time trial event and also placed sixth in the road race. 

The Wojtyk sisters didn’t have to move too far when they left track and field, switching to canoeing on the other side of Mooney’s Bay with the Rideau Canoe Club. The pair captured an impressive seven medals on the water. The pair teamed up for a silver in the C-2 1000m, and were both on the IC-4 200m and 500m boats that captured bronze. Individually, Zoe was the silver medalist in the C-1 5000m and also won bronze as part of the mixed C-2 500m. Amelia, who was a pole vaulter with the Club, paddled her way to a pair of silvers in the C-1 500 and 1000 metre events.