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

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

by linkinbioNational

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

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

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

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

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

(Ottawa, Canada---30 June 2021) Bianca Borgella setting a T13 Canadian record in the 400m at Ottawa Summer Twilight Series Meet #9. Photograph 2021 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Borgella Breaks Canadian Record in 400m debut

by linkinbioNational

In the first 400 metre race of her life, Bianca Borgella did something most Canadian teenagers can only dream of – she set a new national record. Last Wednesday night, during the first Twilight Meet of the summer season, the 18-year old sprinter raced her way into the Canadian record books when she crossed the line in a time of 1:07.63* to beat the previous T13 mark of 1:07.80 set by L. Wong a quarter century before Borgella was born.

Bianca was recently classified in the T13 category at an International Paralympic Committee (IPC) event in Phoenix, Arizona last month. Athletes in the category have the highest visual acuity among those with a vision impairment and/or a visual field of less than 40 degrees diameter. Suffering from Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), which resulted in astigmatism that impairs her ability to see objects at a distance, Bianca had begun the journey to be internationally classified more than 15 months ago, but was delayed because of travel restrictions due to COVID.

Borgella, who has primarily focused on the 100 and 200 metre distances was pleasantly surprised by the new record, saying, “A new record, that’s pretty cool,” after being informed of of the performance’s significance.

“Having never raced the 400 metres before, it was hard to know how she would approach the event,” said coach Zach Quevillon, who believes there is likely to be more records in this young runner’s future as she figures out racing tactics. “She blasted down the backstretch in 27 seconds through the first 200m. The second half of the race was painful; she will probably leave a little bit more in the tank next time.”

*subject to the usual ratification procedures

 

Farah Jacques

Jacques and Bishop-Nriagu win in Montréal

by linkinbioNational

The Lions wrapped up their two stop Montreal tour last night with La Classique d’Athlétisme de Montréal, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event, with a pair of victories from Farah Jacques and Melissa Bishop-Nriagu.

Jacques, running under much better conditions than the rain storm that fell on the national final three days earlier, bested Mariam Abdul-Rashid in the tightest finish of the evening. The pair of runners were awarded equal times of 13.28 seconds, but it was Jacques who was able to out lean Abdul-Rashid, by just eight thousandths of a second, for gold.

Since returning from an early season competition tour in the United States, Jacques has seen a continual improvement in her results on the track including last night’s performance, which was the fourth fastest of her career. The 2016 Olympic finalist will be waiting this week to see if her efforts were strong enough to earn her another spot on Canada’s 4×100 metre relay team in Tokyo.

For Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, her spot in Tokyo is secure, and she has been using the recent series of domestic competitions to work on racing tactics in her run for an Olympic medal. The tactics were working well Tuesday night as she was victorious over an almost identical field to the OIympic Trials in a time of two minutes and 1.69 seconds.

Next up for the decorated runner will be the Monaco Diamond League event on July 9th followed by the London Diamond League four days later. The first round of the 800 metres in Tokyo goes in one month from today.

In the men’s 1500 metres, Robert Mitchell set a new lifetime best of 3:59.08 to finish eighth in the open section. This was Mitchell’s first time cracking four minutes in the 1500. The open women’s 400 metres was won by Alexandra Telford in 57.51 seconds. It was the second fastest time of Telford’s life in her first race since February 2020.

Rounding out the Lions contingent was Stephen Evans who placed sixth in the elite section of the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute and 52.37 seconds.

Next up for the Lions is the kick off of the 34th annual Summer Twilight Series, which begin tonight at Terry Fox. For more information on upcoming twilight meets, please check out the schedule.

Copyright Bertrand Brault/Athletics Canada

Jacques hurdles to bronze medal at Olympic Trials

by linkinbioNational

It wasn’t an ideal scene for a national final, but for Farah Jacques and her fellow competitors, they still managed to put on a show. With a significant amount of rain beating down on the Claude Robillard Stadium and the Canadian Olympic Trials, organizers took the decision to push the start of the 100 metre hurdles a few hours in hopes of gaining some reprieve from Mother Nature. Despite the prayers to the weather gods, and some fervent squeegeeing it was still a wet and raining race.

However, the rain drops didn’t slow the field down as Farah Jacques sped her way to a bronze medal and the second fastest time of her season (13.44 w+2.3).  Behind gold and silver medalists Michelle Harrison and Mariam Abdul-Rashid, Jacques was in a constant battle over all ten barriers with Astrid Nyame. In the end it was Jacques faster feet off the final hurdle and a well time lean that brought her home the bronze, just four hundredths ahead of Nyame. Jacques had previously won hurdles bronze in 2018.

Across the pond at the French Olympic trials, Maeliss Trapeau posted a seventh place finish in the 800 metre event. The recent University of Ottawa graduate had been struggling with a nagging injury most of the spring, only opening her season two weeks ago. However, a strong push in the homestretch of the semi-final earned her the last spot in the final, which she put to good use with a seasonal best effort of 2:05.26. The time was also the fourth fastest of her career.

With the conclusion of the Olympic Trials, next up for the Lions is Tuesday’s Montreal Track Classic that should see six Lions in action including Trials medalists Farah Jacques and Melissa Bishop-Nriagu.

Final decisions on members of Canada’s Olympic Team heading to Tokyo will be out later this week and we will have a run down of Lions heading to Japan when that is announced.

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Bishop-Nriagu takes silver in Olympic Trials 800

by linkinbioNational

The 2021 Trials in Montreal kicked off Friday night with a silver medal at 800 metres for Melissa Bishop-Nriagu.The two-time Olympian hit the Olympic standard of 1:59.50 dead on Friday night at the Claude-Robillard Stadium, marking the third time she’s made the mark this season.

From the moment the gun went off, Bishop-Nriagu made a bee line for the front of the pack and comfortably lead the field through splits of 57 seconds and 1:28 for 400 and 600 metres respectively. The four-time Canadian champion entered the home stretch with her sights on making it five golds, but British Columbia’s Lindsay Butterworth, who had spent most of the race in third, was able to find another gear in the final 100 and was able to pass Bishop-Nriagu to take gold.

“I think it was good. The conditions really cleared up for us, and I already have Olympic standard, so this is an opportunity for me to get out and try something new and we did,” said Bishop-Nriagu of her race and tactics.

Next up in her Olympic preparation, Melissa will head to Europe to race in the Monaco and London Diamond League events before leaving for Tokyo. Bishop-Nriagu set her Canadian record of 1:57.01 in Monaco in 2017.

In the men’s 800 metres, the results largely played out according to the pre-race seeds, with Stephen Evans running 1:50.23 to finish fourth. It was the highest finish at the Canadian Championships for the 24 year old.

You can find full race videos of both 800 metre finals on our Instagram.

The Trials continue today with Farah Jacques contesting the 100 metre hurdles at 1pm. Catch all the action live on AthleticsCanada.tv and use the code: BellTrials

(Ottawa, Canada---February 1997) Stephen Evans of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club running to win running in the 600m at the Carleton Ravens U-Sport Last Chance Qualifier in the The Dome at Lois Riel, Ottawa. 2020 Copyright Photo Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Olympic Trials kick off with Bishop-Nriagu and Evans in 800m

by linkinbioNationalUncategorized

The Canadian Championships and Olympic Trials kick off today at Claude-Robillard Stadium in Montreal. The Lions will be represented by its smallest delegation at nationals since the Club’s earliest years with just three athletes set to compete.

Participation at the championship has been limited to in scope to adhere to public health guidelines, with nearly every event offered capping participation at eight athletes. In addition, the event’s program has been limited to events with Olympic or Paralympic qualification implications.

Up first on Friday is Melissa Bishop-Nriagu as she looks to cement her position on her third successive Olympic team at 800 metres. The former World medalist has already surpassed the Olympic standard of 1:59.50 this season with a 1:58.62 clocking last month in California. In addition to her early season success at 800, the Eganville native has also shown some strength with her new Club record of 4:04.42 at 1500 metres. While she enters as the favourite, it is expected Bishop-Nriagu will be pressed by defending Canadian champion Maddie Kelly and Lindsey Butterworth, who are both within a second of dipping under the Olympic standard.

Stephen Evans will follow in the men’s 800 metres where he enters the event ranked fourth and is looking for his first national medal outdoors. With the lock down in Ottawa hampering access to training facilities and competition, the former USports champion spent most of his spring training and competing in the United States. Evans is undoubtedly looking to build off his seasonal best of 1:49.47 earlier this month at an event in Nashville.

The women’s 800 metres is scheduled for 7pm with the men’s race following at 7:30pm. You can watch both events live on AthleticsCanada.tv using the CODE: BellTrials

(Ottawa, Canada---05 June 2021) Farah Jacques racing in the 100m hurdles at the Ottawa High Performance Weekend, held at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. Photograph copyright 2021 Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Lions kick off domestic season with Tokyo Qualifier Series event

by linkinbioLocalNational

After nearly 10 months away from competition Lions athletes were thrilled to be back on the track and in the field this past weekend at the Ottawa High Performance Weekend. They were joined by more than 70 other athletes from Ontario, Quebec, and as far away as Alberta, all in search for a mark to get them to the Olympic Trials in Montreal later this month and to the Games in Tokyo later this summer.

In total, 10 Lions competed in the two day event, highlighted by Farah Jacques’ victory in the 100 metre hurdles on Saturday evening. A finalist in the 4×100 metre relay in Rio, Jacques has spent the past three seasons fortifying her hurdling technique in hopes of returning to the Games in Tokyo this summer. She moved closer to that goal with a seasonal best time of 13.56 seconds in Saturday’s heats. Her time of 13.66 in the final was more than half a second faster than second place.

The men’s 400 metre hurdles was the only event to feature a pair of Lions competing – Leewinchell Jean and Saj Alhaddad. While Alhaddad, the defending Canadian silver medalist, held the upper hand heading into the homestretch, Jean produced a surge over the final 100 metres to over take his teammate as well as Royal City TFC’s Matthew MacNeil for second in 54.29. The time was the 2019 Canadian U20 Champion’s best season opener ever. Alhhaddad placed fourth in 54.53.

Sticking with the hurdles, 19 year old David Adeleye produced a time of 15.21 seconds in the 110 metre event in his first go at the international height. The performance ranks Adeleye 10th in Club history among U23’s.

Never one to shy away from a come back, Jason Dunkerley returned to the track Friday night in the 1500 metres with guide Alex Behre. The five-time Paralympic medalist who had stepped away from competitive running in the fall of 2018, returned with a 4:27.24 effort. The performance was just outside Athletics Canada’s minimum entry standard of 4:26.64, but to return to the Games, Dunkerley will likely need to better the AC Top-8 standard of 4:16.20 to be considered for selection.

Lions athletes will be back in action this weekend at the Johnny Loaring Classic in Windsor.

For results and photos from this past weekend’s event, please visit ottawalions.com/results/2021-results.

(Montreal, Canada---28 July 1995) From right to left, Sonya Paquette, Lesley Tashlin, and Keturah Anderson at the 1995 Canadian National Track and Field Championships. Photo 1995 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Students pushing to honour Lesley Tashlin in Haliburton

by linkinbioLocalNational

The word “champion” can mean different things, depending on context. Lesley Tashlin earned the title by virtue of her winning the 100-metre hurdlers at the 1995 Canadian Track & Field Championships. Now a new generation has championed a new campaign to recognize her, and her brother’s, career achievements.

The students at J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School in Haliburton, Ont., are used to short trivia and facts with their morning announcements. On one occasion, those announcements touched on the athletic achievements of 1996 Olympic hurdler Lesley Tashlin and her younger brother, CFL defensive back Taly Williams. When the school’s Grade 7/8 French Immersion class were assigned to write a biography, one student chose the sporty siblings.

After researching their careers, the students could not believe that they hadn’t heard of two such accomplished local athletes and came up with a plan. They have started a campaign to have Tashlin and Williams represented with murals on the walls of the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton, which already hosts murals of five other local sport stars.

“I’m naturally quiet, so this is a lot for me to take in,” said Tashlin. “At first, I was like ‘Go for it!’ and it has become so much more than I expected. The kids are great. If it was me, I might have given up the fight at the first sign of trouble, so their dedication is impressive.”

Continue read at Athletics.ca

(Montreal, Canada---26 July 2019) Melissa Bishop-Nriagu running in the 800m semi-finals at 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Claude Robillard Sports Centre in Montreal. 2019 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images.

Bishop-Nriagu hits standard; Nedow sets new discus best

by InternationallinkinbioNationalUniversity

A big weekend on the track and in the field produced a number of marks to celebrate for the Lions, highlighted by Melissa Bishop-Nriagu hitting the Olympic standard in the 800 metres and Tommy Nedow adding nearly two metres to his discus best.

After a disappointing race in Oregon two weeks prior, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu stepped onto the track in Chula Vista, California Sunday aiming to do one thing that had eluded her since stepping away three years ago to give birth to daughter Corinne – break two minutes for 800 metres. Beneath the two minute barrier was also the Olympic standard of 1:59.50 – a necessary step on the path to returning to the Olympic final and running for a medal. Bishop-Nriagu smashed both barriers, stopping the clock in a time of one minute and 59.04 seconds on her way to victory.

Pacing Sunday night’s race was 2019 World 1500 metre finalist Nikki Hiltz, who carried the pack through 600 metres in a speedy 1:27. From there, Bishop-Nriagu told CBC Sports, “it was about focusing on finishing strong and getting to that line in under 1:59.50.” Despite bettering the standard, the Eganville native’s ticket to Tokyo hasn’t been printed yet. “We still have a (potential) National Championship coming up where I will need to qualify. The depth in our women’s 800m in Canada is as strong as ever and we can only send three spots. This is not a given, this has to be worked for still,” she told followers on Instagram.
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Competing in a final tune up meet ahead of the Southland Conference Championships, scheduled for May 14-16, Tommy Nedow unleashed some big throws to move him to the top of the conference rankings. The Brockville native had a big break through in his primary event, the discus, whirling the two kilogram disc out to 53.74 metres to place second. Nedow’s throw added nearly two metres to his previous best set in 2019. Nedow also chalked up a personal best in the hammer throw, adding four metres to his previous best to finish third with 54.87 metres. He rounded out the competition of a 16.26 metre heave to place third in the shot put.

At the University of Kansas, Lauren Gale continued her winning ways in the 400 metres, crossing in 53.84 seconds. The Colorado State University junior battled some unusually strong winds, registering peaks of 8.1 metres per second in the adjacent triple jump, to stay undefeated in the one lap race this outdoor season.  She will look to continue the streak at the Mountain West Championships May 14-16, where she will also be looking to pick up her fourth conference 400 metre title in as many tries.

In other competitions, Stephen Evans placed fifth over 800 metres at the Kansas City Qualifier in 1:50.11. Down in Louisiana, Farah Jacques took ninth in the 100 metres hurdles at the LSU Alumni Invite with a 13.90 second clocking. Out west, fellow hurdler Keira Christie-Galloway finished fourth at the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Arizona with a time of 13.75 seconds.

 

2021-Nine-Team-Canada-athletes-to-join-Smith

Smith and Makinde receive Game Plan Scholarships

by linkinbioNational

Among the nine Team Canada athletes to be awarded Game Plan Scholarships to build their business skills were two familiar names to the Lions pride. Two time Olympians Oluseyi Smith and Oluwasegun Makinde will be returning to the classroom over the coming months as they further their education at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.

Smith, just one of 12 athletes to represent Canada at the Winter and Summer Olympics, will enroll in the Executive MBA Americas – a 17-month program leading to Master of Business Administration degrees from both Queen’s University and Cornell University. Smith qualified for his first Olympic Games in 2012, representing Canada in the 4×100 metre relay in London. After failing to qualify for the Games in Rio, Smith took his speed and power from the rubber tracks of athletics to the icy tracks of bobsleigh. As a member of Justin Kripps four-man crew, Smith helped push Canada to a sixth place finish at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

A professional engineer, Smith, received his bachelor and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Loughborough University in the United Kingdowm and had been working for AltaLink in Calgary for six years before returning home to Ottawa last spring to work as a distribution engineer for Hydro Ottawa. In addition to his professional activities, Smith also served on the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Board of Directors, serving as Chair of the COC’s Athlete Commission, and is currently a Young Leader with the International Olympic Committee.

Makinde, a long standing member of Canada’s 4×100 metre relay program was part of both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic teams. The 29 year old Makinde will be pursuing his Master of Management Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Smith School of Business – a 12 month program designed for those who will start, grow, or drive new ventures whether in a start up or inside a corporation. Makinde, who graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management in 2014, has become an accomplished public speaker alongside his athletic pursuits including speaking at this year’s McMaster University TEDx Talk. In addition to his public speaking duties, Makinde currently hosts two podcasts and volunteers as a member of Athletics Canada’s Athlete Council and the Diversity & Equity Advisory Committee of AthletesCAN.

The Smith School of Business scholarship program is one component of the COC’s Game Plan, Canada’s total athlete wellness program, helping athletes plan for success beyond sport. This new cohort of successful applicants will join the network of over 130 elite Canadian athletes who have been awarded academic scholarships since the program began in 2016