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The domestic season came to a close this past weekend with a silver lining for Lauren Gale, Lindsay Brandys and Barbara Bitchoka as Lion athletes competed at both the Canadian Youth and Eastern Canada Espoir Championships.
Making their provincial team debuts, first year senior athletes Brandys and Bitchoka came to play at the Eastern Canada Espoir Championships in Moncton. After setting the top mark in qualifying for the 100m, Brandys dropped a seasonal best time of 12.05 seconds into a blistery 1.7 m/s headwind to finish second to Quebec’s Émy Béliveau. Brandys also picked up gold in the 4x100m relay, as Ontario won by a comfortable three and a half second margin.
In the high jump, Bitchoka produced her second best effort of the year, clearing 1.68m to finish in second. Teammate Arabella Alton took gold with a 1.74m clearance.
At the Canadian Youth Championships Lauren Gale picked up the sole medal for the Lions on the weekend with her silver in the 400m. The 16 year old crossed the line in a time of 55.33 seconds.
Other Lions with top eight finishes in Ste. Therese included:
Lauren Gale – U18 Girls 200m – 8th 25.58 w-2.0
Keegan Gaunt – U18 Girls 800m – 8th 2:17.42
Julia Maine, Keegan Gaunt, Olivia Crewe, Carlee Townend – U18 Girls 4x400m – 7th 4:10.18
Caroline Poirier – U18 Girls Pole Vault – 8th 3.00m
Ben Robinson – U16 Boys 100m – 8th 12.09 w-3.0
Ben Robinson – U16 Boys 200m – 5th 23.93 w-3.6
Alex Pope – U16 Boys 300m – 8th 37.03
Joe Fast – U16 Boys 800m – 5th 2:02.85
Joe Fast – U16 Boys 1200m – 7th 3:18.86
Wariso Dullo – U18 Boys Javelin – 5th 53.17
 

It was a record breaking weekend at the Ontario Masters Championships for Leslie Estwick and Kim Ethier. While this was Ethier’s first foray into masters athletics, Estwick was named Ontario masters athlete of the year in 2001.
With Ethier and Estwick competing in the W45 and W55 categories respectively, they each swept the 80m hurdles, long jump and high jump with a total of five meet records between them.
In addition to meet records in the hurdles and long jump, Estwick equaled the Canadian Record of 1.30m in the high jump.
Also picking up multiple medals were sprinters Lawrence Williams and Wendy Alexis. Williams picked up double gold in the 100m and 200m, while Alexis took silver after being nipped at the line in the W60 100m by world champion Karla Del Grande. Wendy did get her gold in the 200m, beating Del Grande by almost four tenths of a second.
Medalists

GOLD – Kim Ethier W48 Long Jump 4.37m w1.0 MR
GOLD – Kim Ethier W48 High Jump 1.20m
GOLD -Leslie Estwick W55 80m Hurdles 14.54 w1.6 MR
GOLD -Leslie Estwick W55 High Jump 1.30m CR
GOLD -Leslie Estwick W55 Long Jump 3.48m 1.7 MR
GOLD – Lawrence Williams M45 100m 11.89 w0.4
GOLD – Lawrence Williams M45 200m 24.09 w0.2
GOLD – Wendy Alexis W61 200m 29.07 w0.5
GOLD – Jean Ferguson W50 200m 32.55 w0.5
GOLD – Jean Ferguson W50 5000m 21:30.79
SILVER – Wendy Alexis W60 100m 14.07 w0.7
SILVER- Michael Ferguson M50 5000m 19:58.92
 

On Friday, sprinter Lindsay Brandys and high jumper Barbara Bitchoka were named to their first provincial team as the duo will represent Ontario at the upcoming Eastern Canada Espoir Championships taking place August 6-7 at the Moncton Stadium in New Brunswick.
Both athletes were nominated based on their performances at this summer’s Ontario Championships. Brandys was a finalist over 100m and 200m at the Ontario Senior Championships back in June while Bitchoka won bronze with her clearance of 1.70m.

A message from the President:
Given that the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club must evolve and adapt to meet the challenges of a new and ever-changing environment, the Board of Directors has directed a special committee with:
1.      reviewing and reorganizing, as necessary, the professional structure of the Club;
2.      reviewing and modifying, as necessary, the Terms and Conditions of employment of the Club’s employees; and
3.      implementing any necessary changes to the professional structure and/or terms of employment before the end of the current fiscal year (i.e. August 31, 2016).
The above decision was a result of a motion which passed unanimously at a recent meeting of the Board of Directors.  The Club membership will be kept apprised of the implementation plan for this restructuring.

 
 
Mark Phillips
President, Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club

With the start of the Olympic Games quickly approaching, the final Ottawa Summer Twilight Series meeting of the the 2016 season will provide a perfect send off for four club members as they prepare to step up on the global stage in Rio.
In attendance will be 2012 Olympian Oluwasegun Makinde as well as first time Olympians Farah Jacques, Sekou Kaba and Tim Nedow.
Both Makinde and Jacques, members of Canada’s 4x100m relay entries in Rio, are scheduled to compete in the 100m and 200m events Wednesday night as part of their final Olympic preparation. Makinde was a fifth place finisher over 100m at the recent Canadian Trials in Edmonton, while Jacques was a bronze medalist over 200m.
Tim Nedow, a Pan American Games silver medalist in 2015, and World Championship semi-finalist Sekou Kaba will be in attendance Wednesday night to meet with fans and the media, but will not be competing.
Also available for media interviews Wednesday will be Glenroy Gilbert, Power, Speed Events and Relays Coach for Athletics Canada. Rio will mark Glenroy’s ninth Olympic team, and his fourth as the lead coach of Canada’s relay teams.
Events begin at 7pm with the sprint hurdles and followed by the 100m on a rolling schedule. The full schedule can be found here.

For the second straight year, Shona McCulloch finished 11th in the 3000m at an IAAF World Championships. However, this year’s effort at the junior championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland lowered her one month old Canadian Youth record to a blistering 9 minutes 16.93 seconds.
After getting separated from the lead pack about half way through the race, McCulloch powered through the final kilometer with American Kate Murphy on her way to a five second personal best. Shona had previouly set the Canadian record of  9:21.61 at a meet in Renton, Washington.
Competing at her first global championship, sprinter Shyvonne Roxborough advanced to the semi-finals, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 11.88 seconds. The South Carleton High School graduate advanced to the semi’s following a 11.78 clocking in the heats where she garnered her semi-final spot as one of the fastest non-qualifiers.
The final member of the Lion’s contingent, Keira Christie-Galloway finished 6th in her heat of the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.43 seconds. She failed to advance, finishing 39th overall.

From Edmonton Journal
With the rush of a successful Olympic Trials still ringing in her ears and The Games in Rio still a month away, the Track Town Classic wouldn’t seem like an easy meet for Melissa Bishop, or anyone in her spikes, to get up for.
It’s like an exhibition game between clinching a playoff spot and the start of the Stanley Cup final.
Fortunately for the crowd at Foote Field Friday night, Bishop is a pretty good self-motivator.
On a night when everyone in the place showed up hoping to see something special from someone, she delivered, posting a new Canadian record in the women’s 800 metres.
“I really had to work hard to turn my mental game around because Trials was so exciting, it was such a huge goal on my sheet to make the Olympic team,” said Bishop, whose time of 1:57.43 beat her own record of a year ago 1:57.52.
“So it was the mental prep that we did, and the conditions were perfect tonight.”
The 800 is an easy event to bail out of, especially when there really isn’t a whole lot on the line. Just shift it into neutral and coast down the stretch instead of battling through the burning legs and lungs. But as far as Bishop is concerned, cruise control is not an option in anything that includes a starting gun and a finish line.
To continue reading, click here.

The Ottawa Lions are pleased to announce that five club members have been selected to represent Canada this August at the Rio Olympic Games. The contingent, headlined for World Championship silver medalist Melissa Bishop, is the largest the club has ever sent to the Games.

While Bishop and 4x100m relay team member Oluwasegun Makinde were members of the London 2012 team, this will be the first Olympic experience for shot putter Tim Nedow, hurdler Sekou Kaba and 4x100m relay member Farah Jacques.

Expectations heading into Rio will be undoubtedly be high Bishop following her medal at last summer’s World Championship. However, in a trimmed down competition schedule so far in 2016, Melissa has shown herself to be a force to be reckoned twice breaking the Canadian record indoors. She has followed that up with multiple sub two minute performances and a new Canadian championship record this past weekend. The next step on Bishop’s road to Rio will be this week’s Edmonton International Track Classic.

Oluwasegun Makinde, a long standing member of the Canadian senior team has again been named to the relay squad. Makinde was an alternate on the relay team in London four years ago that was disaqualified after crossing the finish line in the bronze medal position, but does have a relay bronze from the 2013 World Championships. Segun, as most people call him, is the sixth fastest man in Canada this year over 100m after setting a new personal best of 10.24 last month in Toronto.  He’ll be in the relay pool with Andre Degrasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, Mobolade Ajomale, and Akeem Haynes.

While this will be Tim Nedow’s first Olympic experience, he is far from a novice on the global stage. The Thousand Island Secondary School Gradudate was a finalist at the recent World Indoor Championships in Portland and has also competed in the past two World Outdoor Championships.  With a best throw of 20.88, Nedow currently has the 14th farthest throw in the world this year.

Four years ago hurdler Sekou Kaba was receiving his Canadian citizenship, today he is about to embark on his first Olympic journey. The University of Ottawa graduate was a semi-finalist at last year’s World Championships in Beijing and will be certainly looking to equal and improve on that result in Rio. Slowed by an early season achillies issue, Kaba is rounding into form after setting a seasonal best 13.64 this past weekend at the Canadian Championships.

While her focus had been on running the 200m in Rio, Farah Jacques will be a member of Canada’s 4x100m relay team in six weeks. The Montreal native has posted club records of 11.49 and 23.21 seconds respectively over 100m and 200m so far this season with her 200m mark being a scant 0.01 seconds off the Olympic standard. Jacques had previously been a part of the Canadian relay team at the 2015 World Relay Champs.

The athletics portion of the Olympic Games kicks off August 12 at the Olympic Stadium. The first Lion in action will be Sekou Kaba when he lines up for the 110m hurdle heats at 7:40pm Eastern on Monday, August 15.

There may not have been a golden finish on day three of the Canadian Championships, but it was certainly full of silver linings. Lion athletes picked up a total of three silvers and one bronze Saturday.
Lauren Gale kicked off the medal haul in the junior women’s 400m final with her silver medal performance. The field got away from Gale, but she was able to move back against them in the homestretch before being nipped at the line by Natasha McDonald 54.48 to 54.52.
Shyvonne Roxborough was next to step onto the medal podium. The World Junior team member battled a strong headwind in the final to finish in third with a time of 12.17 seconds. Roxborough will race the 200m semi’s on Sunday.
Josh Cassidy picked up his second medal of the championship in the 1500m para wheelchair final. The 2012 Paralympian finished second in a time of 3:22.79.
Cassidy’s medal performance was quickly followed up by a another silver with Sultana Frizell finishing second in the hammer throw. The Canadian record holder, who is coming back from an early season foot injury, hurled the hammer out to a seasonal best of 69.14m. Sultana has the Olympic standard from last year, so we will wait to see if she gets named to the team on Monday.
In other news, Melissa Bishop comfortably advanced to the women’s 800m final, winning her heat in 2:05.08. As well, Oluwasegun Makinde was fifth in the men’s 100m final in 10.35. Makinde had run an all-conditions best of 10.17w in the semi-final.
All of the results from Day Three can be found below:
Junior Women
Jordan Weston (1500m Final) – 4:39.17 7th
Shyvonne Roxborough (100m Semi-finals) – 11.82 2nd
Shyvonne Roxborough (100m Final) – 12.17 BRONZE
Lauren Gale (400m Final) – 54.52 SILVER
Senior Women
Melissa Bishop (800m Semi-Final) – 2:05.08 3rd
Svetlana Martynova (800m Semi-Final) – 2:08.07 16th
Farah Jacques (100m Semi-Fina) – 11.54w 9th
Sultana Frizell (Hammer Throw Final) – 69.14m SILVER
Senior Men
Sebastian Saville (800m Semi-Final) – 1:52.28 – 18th
Oluwasegun Makinde (100m Semi-Final) – 10.17w 5th
Oluwasegun Makinde (100m Final) – 10.35 5th
Josh Cassidy (1500m Para Wheelchair Final) – 3:22.79 SILVER