Four Ottawa Lions boarded planes headed for Edmonton Wednesday morning as they get set to compete in this weekend’s Pan American Junior Championship. While Claire Smith and Erinn Stenman-Fahey are first year juniors, they are no stranger to international competition. Erinn was a semi-finalist at last year’s World Junior Championships as a 17 year old, while Claire ran at this year’s World Cross Country Championships. For the men, both Matt Bedard and Steve Nkusi will be making their international debut in Edmonton.
Claire Smith is scheduled to compete on the opening day of competition in the women’s 3000m. Claire qualified for the event by virtue of her commanding victory at the Canadian Junior Championships on the same Foote Field track earlier this month. She is the top ranked athlete in the event with a best of 9:22.75 set earlier this year.
On Saturday, Matt Bedard will take to the line in a very competitive men’s 400m hurdle semi-final where he’ll square off against one of the best juniors in the world, Marvin Williams of Jamaica. Matt, the current Canadian junior champion, will need to place in the top 2 or be among the top 2 fastest losers to advance to the final later in the day.
Also competing Saturday will be Erinn Stenman-Fahey as she lines up in the women’s 800m timed final. A silver medallist at nationals, Erinn will likely have to dip under her personal best of 2:06.97 set last year in Eugene if she is to figure in the medals. The 800m field is highlight by world number one, Raevyn Rogers of the United States, who has run 1:59.71 this summer.
Rounding out the Lions contingent is Steve Nkusi who will look to recreate some of the magic that saw him capture his first national championship earlier this month when he takes to the high jump apron on Sunday. The University of Ottawa freshman is a relative newcomer to the event, having only begun training seriously for the event 14 months ago after playing competitive basketball previously. However, Nkusi has already raised his personal best to 2.10m, which ranks him 9th heading into the competition.
Lions schedule (all times Eastern)
Watch Live
Claire Smith – 3000m final – Friday @ 20h50
Matt Bedard – 400mH prelim – Saturday @ 15h10. Final @21h10
Erinn Stenman-Fahey – 800m final – Saturday @ 20h15
Steve Nkusi – High Jump Final – Sunday @ 19h10
Bishop bounds past rivals on homestretch for upset Pan Am gold
By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportpage
Seeded fourth in the women’s 800 metres, Melissa Bishop of the Ottawa Lions Track-and-Field Club bolted down the home stretch to gold on Wednesday night at York University as the Ottawa medal haul hit a remarkable total of 20 with four days left in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
“There are so many fans here and I have a lot of people from home and friends and family all around (the stadium),” noted Bishop, who ran a blazing 1 minute, 59.52-second time for her two-lap race and then a snail-pace victory lap as she stopped for hugs in the audience almost every step of the way. “It was so great to have that connection with everybody, and I’m really grateful for it.”
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Lions pair bag pair of medals to kick off TO2015 track-and-field
By Dan Plouffe of Ottawa Sportspage
It wasn’t the best performances of their careers, but the Ottawa Lions throws tandem of Tim Nedow and Sultana Frizell both experienced career highlights nonetheless on Tuesday evening at York University as they won silver and bronze medals respectively at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games.
Nedow’s medal came in his first of two events during the five-day Pan Am track-and-field programme, placing 2nd in the men’s shotput with a toss of 20.53 metres.
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Lions win 17 medals at Canadian Masters
Ottawa Lions athletes picked up 17 medals at this weekend’s Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships in St. Catherine’s, just one behind last year’s haul. Among the haul was nine gold, five silver and three bronze, with jumper Stan Seitz picking up two gold and a silver himself.
For athletes Wendy Alexis, Dave Kary and Robert Muir, the championship was a final prep for the upcoming World Masters Championships taking place in Lyon, France, August 4-16. All three picked up championship medals on the weekend, with Alexis picking up gold in the W60 100m and a silver in the 200m, while Muir (M45) and Kary (M55) each picked up medals in the 1500m.
The complete list of medal winners was as follows:
Linda Tauvette, W55, 100m – Gold
Linda Tauvette, W55, 200m – Gold
Wendy Alexis, W60, 100m – Gold
Wendy Alexis, W60, 200m – Silver
Joe Paialunga, M55, 100m – Silver
Joe Paialunga, M55, 200m – Gold
Marino Sani, M55, 100m – Bronze
Marino Sani, M55, 200m – Bronze
Robert Muir, M45, 1500m – Silver
Dave Kary, M55, 1500m – Bronze
Jean Ferguson, W55, 5000m – Silver
Stan Seitz, M65, High Jump – Silver
Stan Seitz, M65, Pole Vault – Gold
Stan Seitz, M65, Long Jump – Gold
Laura Baker, W30, Long Jump – Gold
Laura Baker, W30, Triple Jump – Gold
Bob Stavely, M80, Javelin – Gold
McCulloch and Christie-Galloway shine in Colombia
Running in Thursday’s semi-finals, Christie-Galloway was unable to replicate her performance of the day before, posting a time of 13.71 seconds and finishing sixth in her heat. She would not advance, finishing 19th overall. “I didn’t get a great start, but it was a great learning experience that makes me want to get faster,” said Keira. “Overall this has been a wonderful experience.”
The two women were joined in Cali by jumps coach Leslie Estwick, making them the largest Lions contingent at the World Youth Championships since the 2007 championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic when the club was represented by Karelle Edwards, Oluwasegun Makinde, Kyle Milks and coach Darcy Cumming.
Bishop Breaks Record in Luzern
“More races. Get sharp.” That’s what 800m runner Melissa Bishop had to say when Flotrack asked her what she needed to get in the 1:59’s after winning in Madrid on Sunday in 2:00.13. What Bishop didn’t realize is it would only take one race, breaking her own club and provincial record Tuesday night in Luzern. The Eganville native crossed the line in 1 minute 59.52 seconds to finish third at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Meeting. The previous record of 1:59.70 was set at the NTL Victoria last season.
At the 400m mark, Bishop sat in fifth, but was already making her move to catch up to the lead pack, which hit the bell at 56.5 seconds. “It got out hard. I kept moving with the pack”, said the 2012 Olympian. “Felt like I got a little boxed in off the corner with 100m to go, but I’ve just got to respond to that.” Respond she did, as lane one opened up, Melissa sprinted home for third.
Looking forward, Bishop will race next week at the Pan Am Games in Toronto with the semi-finals taking place Tuesday at York University, with the goal of making a run for gold in the final on Wednesday night. “It’s going to be great. I mean home town crowd, home field advantage. It works to my advantage.”
Seven Lions Confirm Spots on Team Canada
The final two days of the 2015 Canadian Track and Field Championships brought about 14 Championship medals for the Ottawa Lions and included seven Lions securing spots on Team Canada for the upcoming Pan American Junior Championships and IAAF World Championships in China this August.
Among the senior ranks, a club record four athletes secured their ticket to the Bird’s Nest in Beijing – highlighted by gold medal victories from throwers Sultana Frizell and Tim Nedow. Frizell secured her sixth Canadian title on her first throw Saturday night – 70.59m. The Perth native would extend her lead to 70.97m in the second round to win by more than four metres.
Like Frizell, Nedow was the class of the shot put competition, winning the competition on his first throw – 19.38m. However, in the fifth round, the Commonwealth bronze medalist would put the shot out to a club record 20.53m to confirm his third straight national title. Tim had previously set the club record earlier this season at the Kansas Relays with a throw of 20.51m.
Also securing her berth was Melissa Bishop by virtue of a silver medal in the 800m. Bishop, was looking for a three peat in the 800m, but was narrowly out kicked at the line by Fiona Benson of B.C. – 2:08.52 to 2:08.60. In the men’s 110m hurdle final, Sekou Kaba ran the race of his life, setting a new club record of 13.43 seconds to capture bronze in one of the strongest national finals in history. Kaba was ecstatic about the performance, taking to Twitter afterwards, saying, “As much as I hate to lose, I accept tonight’s L with great pride. PB, club record, World Champs standard and Olympic standard…..just wow!”
In the Junior Championships, both Matt Bedard and Claire Smith ran to victory on Sunday afternoon to secure their spots on Team Canada for the Pan Am Junior Championships. Bedard, who just finished his freshman year at North Dakota State University, stumbled over hurdle nine before regaining his stride and sprinting across the line in 52.74 seconds. Smith was a little more decisive in her victory, as she broke from the pack with less than three laps to go and ran to a comfortable victory in 9:49.87.
Rounding out the list of athletes to earn their spot on Team Canada was Erinn Stenman-Fahey, who qualified for the national junior team for the second year in a row after finishing second in the 800m. The future Iowa State Cyclone found herself in a one on one battle down the home stretch with future teammate Evelyne Guay, but Guay was able to sneak out the victory – 2:10.15 to 2:10.46.
Other medal winners from the Saturday and Sunday’s competition include:
Shanna Boutilier Para Ambulatory 200m – Gold
Josh Cassidy T54 5000m – Gold
Stuart McGregor Para Ambulatory 400m – Gold
Josh Cassidy T54 1500m – Silver
Larissa Brown Para Ambulatory 200m – Silver
Jon Dunkerley Para Ambulatory 200m – Bronze
Lions Grab 11 medals on first two days of Canadian championships
The second day of the Canadian Track and Field Championships ended with a bang, even after the lightning storm, as high jumper Steve Nkusi and discus thrower Tim Nedow were each crowned Canadian Champion.
It was a virtually clean sheet which led to Nkusi’s victory in the junior high jump, missing only his first attempt at 1.95m, before clearing each of his remaining heights on the first attempt – putting the pressure on his competitors. After securing the win with his 2.06m clearance, the University of Ottawa student pushed the bar up to a new personal best height of 2.12m – narrowly missing on his final attempt. With the win, Nkusi has now qualified to represent Canada at the Pan American Junior Championships at the end of July.
For Tim Nedow, his victory in Friday night’s senior men’s discus competition marked his third straight national championship in the event and his first since returning to compete with the Ottawa Lions. Nedow’s winning throw of 60.09m came in the fifth round after sitting in second behind Jordan Young of York University until that point. Nedow will compete in his speciality, the shot put Sunday, where he will be going for his third straight national championship as well.
In para events, Lions athletes grabbed a total of nine medals over the first two days, including five gold medals. Grabbing multiple golds was Shanna Boutilier who picked up titles in the para ambulatory 400m and 800m. Boutilier was joined on the 400m podium by teammate Larissa Brown (silver) after Larissa had captured gold in her speciality – the 100m.
The men’s para ambulatory 1500m also brought multiple medals back to Ottawa, led by Paralympic medalist Stuart McGregor who waited until the bell lap before kicking away from teammate Tommy Des Brisay to win in 4:20.30. Des Brisay picked up the silver in 4:29.48. In the 5000m, Jason Dunkerley and guide Joshua Karanja easily captured gold in 16 minutes 20.85 seconds.
The final medal came from wheelchair racer, Joshua Cassidy, who battled tooth and nail to the finish with Alexandre Dupont of Quebec before narrowly edged out of gold – 1:40.91 to 1:41.10.
Nkusi, Bedard and Gardner Crack Top 10 at Twilight #3
It was a perfect night for track and field Wednesday night at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility as the Ottawa Lions hosted the third of their famous Twilight Meets for the summer season. With the right conditions in place, three Lions jumped and ran their way into the record books, with new all-time top ten performances.
In the high jump, the conditions gave way to Steve Nkusi’s perfect opportunity to fly. The 19 year old University of Ottawa student had jumped a personal best 2.05m early in the indoor season, but had recently been hampered by injuries. With the Canadian Championships just over a week away, Nkusi was looking to surpass the qualification standard of 2.07m for this summer’s Pan American Junior Championships in Edmonton. However, Steve did much better, clearing a new personal best of 2.10m and moving himself into a three way tie for the lead in the Canadian Junior Rankings. The top two finishers at the national championships, with standard, will be named to Team Canada. Nkusi’s clearance also puts him in a tie for fifth on the club’s all-time rankings with Ray Seguin.
Also topping the list of Canada’s Junior Rankings was Matt Bedard in the 400m hurdles as he sped his way to a new lifetime best of 52.62 seconds, nearly three tenths better than his efforts at the Horizon League Championships in last month. With the time, Matt also moved up the all-time rankings to seventh, five spots and 1.49 seconds behind his coach Sasha Cesaratto. Like Nkusi, Matt will need a top two placing at the Canadian Championships to qualify for his first national team.
Finally, while doing a little speed preparation for nationals, 800m runner Charlotte Gardner became only the fifth woman in club history to break the 1 minute 30 second barrier for 600m, edging out University of Toronto runner Rachel Jewett – 1:29.87 to 1:29.91. With the time, Gardner moves into fourth on the club all-time list, one one-hundredth of a second behind Erinn Stenman-Fahey. As well, the University of Ottawa student broke Rachel Aubry’s Twilight Meet and Terry Fox Athletic Facility Record of 1:30.82 set in 2008. Charlotte had entered the race with a personal best time of 1:31.35 set while winning CIS bronze in 2013.
The Twilight Series will be return to action July 8th for Meet #4.
Seven Lions named to Pan Am Games Team
On Sunday a record six Lion athletes were named to represent Canada at the upcoming Pan American Games in Toronto. The Lions contingent is lead by defending hammer throw silver medalist, Sultana Frizell. This will be the third Pan Am Games for the Perth native, who was also a seventh place finisher eight years ago in Rio de Janerio. Frizell will be joined by Commonwealth Games medalist Tim Nedow, who will compete in both the shot put and discus and 2012 Olympian Melissa Bishop in the 800m.
Making their Pan Am Games debut will be sprint hurdler Sekou Kaba and decathlete Patrick Arbour. Both men have experience in a multi sport games environment as Kaba was Francophone Games champion in 2013, while Arbour was an eighth place finisher at the World University Games in 2013.
The athlete contingent is completed with the addition of Michael Robertson who will once again represent Canada on the 4x400m relay team. It was four years ago when Mike received his first major senior appointment to the Pan Am team in Mexico where he helped the Canadian team to a seventh place finish.
Also named to the team is relay coach Glenroy Gilbert who has recently retaken the lead of the Canadian men’s 4x100m relay program. Gilbert is also the only Lion to ever win Pan Am gold, taking the 100m title at the 1995 Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
For the full Athletics Canada press release, please click here.