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

Pedersen sets new best at Canadian 10k Championships

by linkinbioNational

The 2021 season has been a shift into a new gear for Nicholas Pedersen. The 21-year speaks about a shift in his mentality – to running courageously. The shift continued to pay dividends Sunday morning in Toronto as he set a new lifetime best  at the Canadian 10K Championships. Pedersen crossed the line in a time of 31 minutes and 45.0 seconds to place 41st.

“I am incredibly pleased with the result,” said Pedersen of his first Canadian senior championship performance. “Given the fitness going into it, I knew that sub 32:00 was ambitious yet within range of possibility.”

Sunday’s performance was just the latest in a line of what seem to be continually improving performances for Pedersen. The early season saw him set back-to-back bests over 5,000 metres on the track – taking nearly 15 seconds of his previous best. He then followed that up with gold in the 3,000 metre steeplechase at the Ontario Open Championships. “The more I run courageously the more that I realize it is less about the courage and more so about the trust I put in my fitness and the training I have done which allows me to race the way I do,” Pedersen describes.

Sunday’s performance is seen by Pedersen as good litmus test for his ultimate goal this fall – the Canadian Cross Country Championships to be held in Ottawa. “I only plan on coming with that much more fitness and intensity come November 27 to put on a show for everyone who supports me and to represent [the Lions] through racing with every ounce of heart that I have.”
Pedersen was not the only Lion competing in Toronto this past weekend as wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy took to the line following his top-five performance at the Boston Marathon six days prior. Cassidy crossed the finish line in a time of 21 minutes and 50.0 seconds.

“I used to live near Lake Shore Boulevard near High Park and never raced any STWM weekend events, so this was really fun to do,” Cassidy told Athletics Canada following the race. “They just made this [wheelchair] event a couple of weeks ago, so it worked out with my schedule. It was a demonstration. Hopefully it is something to build on for the future with prize money and a bigger field. It’s funny, whenever I am driving roads, I am always eyeing them up for training. And on Lake Shore, you can never do that unless it’s shut. It was fun to get out there, a fun course.”

ACXC_Ottawa

2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships Take Over the Capital

by linkinbioNational

As Ottawa weather turns cold and wet, the country’s best cross country racers will heat up the trails of our Nation’s Capital for the 2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships, to be held November 27.

“Winning a national championship is always a special experience for an athlete. Athletics Canada is proud to provide a safe environment for all the competitor to do what they do best – compete. The same goes for the coaches, officials and race volunteers that make these events happen. With this being the first time the Canadian Cross Country Championships have been held in Ottawa, it is all the more special to put on this first-class event, with our first-class partners, in one of Canada’s greatest cities,” said Athletics Canada CEO David Bedford.

This race for the gold marks Ottawa’s first time hosting the event, a feat the capital will repeat in 2022. Wesley Clover Parks in Nepean will be the site where the first national cross country champions since 2019 will be crowned. The 2020 event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Run Ottawa has decades of experience showcasing the best road racers Canada has to offer at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.  Working with Athletics Canada as the Local Organizing Committee for the Canadian Cross Country Championships is an honour and pulls us off the road and into whatever Wesley Clover Parks has to offer in late November!”, said Ian Fraser, Executive Director, Run Ottawa. “Run Ottawa is also privileged to partner with the Ottawa Lions to help us execute a stellar Championship for Canada’s best athletes.”

Wesley Clover Parks is a new setting for Cross Country in Ottawa. While races are annually contested at Mooney’s Bay Park and The Hornet’s Nest, race organizers have created a challenging course that will allow athletes to push the pace on the flats, grind out the competition in the rolling wooded trails and take on the elements mother nature has in store for them in late November. The course has a bit of everything and will also allow spectators to get around to many vantage points and cheer on the athletes.

“As soon as it was shared that Ottawa would be the site of the 2021 and 2022 Athletics Canada Cross Country Championships, we didn’t waste any time. While it was only four years ago Ottawa welcomed the best in Canadian Athletics at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, we are thrilled to welcome Canada’s best harriers to Wesley Clover Parks,” said Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club Director and Head Coach Richard Johnston.

Upwards of 1,000 competitors descend on the host city every year to compete in the Canadian Cross Country Championships in the U18, U20, Open and Masters age categories. Consistent with Athletics

Canada’s mandatory vaccination policy, all athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators will need to provide proof of full vaccination to participate in the 2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships.

The deadline to register for the 2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships is Monday, November 15 at 7 p.m. ET.

 

Important Links  

2021 Canadian Cross Country Championships information
Registration
HTG Sports hotel preview
HTG Sports hotel booking   
Volunteer information

 

(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.”

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