Posts in category: Uncategorized

For the the reigning silver medalist Tim Nedow, Wednesday night’s shot put final at the Pan American Games in Peru came within one round of going according to plan – with a spot on the medal podium.

Nedow set the tone early on with with a heave of 20.47 metres that firmly place him in the silver medal position, but as the rounds progressed he had trouble finding his rhythm in the seven foot circle. Leaving the ring, the look on his face would tell the story of close, but no cigar.

The sixth and final round was a cracker of a competition with five of the eight participants better their marks – including Nedow. The fireworks resulted in Mexican record holder Uziel Munoz and American Jordan Geist both leap frogging Nedow and knocking him off the podium. Unfortunately for Nedow, his response of 20.48 metres would leave him in fourth.

“It was a crazy last round, I really wish I could have responded. I thought I threw a bit further, it’s unfortunate that I came a bit short,” Nedow told Athletics Canada after the competition. “At these Championships I wanted to either medal or have a good throw. I didn’t do either so Worlds is still my big goal. I’m feeling healthy and I will keep training while I’m down here. I’m going to have to throw further than that at the World Championships.”

In the hurdles, Keira Christie-Galloway completed her longest season on record with an 11th place finish at the Pan American Games. The 19 year old was seventh in her semi-final with a time of 13.57 seconds, well off her season’s best of 13.10 seconds set back in May at the Big 12 Championships.

Fellow members,
Some of you have reached out to me in the last week to inquire about the status of the new board of directors. The nomination committee is currently checking references and interviewing prospective members. We have also obtained police checks for all prospective members. We understand the process may seem lengthy;  however, we want to ensure we have done our due diligence.
We will hold a Special General Meeting of the member Thursday, August 29, 2019 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility (blue trailer) at 7:30pm. At this time, the committee will present the prospective board members and the membership will be called upon to vote on the member slate.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the selection process or any other concerns regarding the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club.
Nathalie Côté
ottawalionstfclubpresident@gmail.com

He say’s it was his worst throw in almost a decade, but Tim Nedow’s opening round throw of 18.22 metres at the Canadian Championships was enough to secure his seventh straight national shot put title. Not one to settle, the Brockville native increased his margin of victory on each of his next two throws, culminating in a 20.54 metre heave in the third round before he decided call it quits for the day and save his energy for next week’s Pan American Games in Peru.

“Today I was just trying to go out and defend my title,” said the defending Pan Am silver medalist. “I got another throw over 20 metes, which is good. It’s always nice to be over 20 and now I’m getting ready to go down to Peru and hopefully better this mark.”

While the Pan American Games kicked off this past weekend, the Athletics portion of the multi-sport games gets under way in earnest next Tuesday. For Nedow, the shot put competition gets going August 7 where he will contend with Brazilian Darlan Romani, who has the second farthest throw in the world this year along with a strong stable of American shot putters.
Sunday’s victory also secured Nedow’s spot on Canada’s team for the upcoming World Championships in Doha. Coming off a 16th place finish two years ago in London, the goal for the two time Commonwealth medalist is a spot in the final and ultimately a place on the podium. However, he knows it won’t be easy.

“Looking at the [world] list this year, I think it’s going to be a really tough Worlds. I think it’s going to be the toughest ever, so I’m going to not only have to be in good shape, but I’m probably going to have to be in the best shape ever. It’s gonna take 21 mid, maybe more and I think that’s the shape I’m gonna have to get in, which I think I can do.”

The final day of the 2019 Canadian Track and Field Championships got started with a bang Sunday as a quartet of 400 metre hurdlers lit up the track over a 20 minute span as the session got underway. With a Lion running each of the four hurdle finals, the medals, three in total, came fast and furious.
Veteran runner Saj Alhaddad was the first to step on the track and he had his eyes focused solely on the gold that alluded him a year ago. Unfortunately for Alhaddad he lost some time and focus on the backstretch as his shoe lace came undone and struck the third hurdle pretty hard.
“I was bit behind but I told myself, I need to remain calm to the finish and I did,” said Alhaddad of his mentality in the race. He would finish strong, crossing in 51.60 seconds, two hundredths out of top spot. “I just ran out of real estate. I tried to dive, but it’s a silver medal. I can’t be sad about that. ”
In the U20 men’s final, Leewinchel Jean entered as the favourite after posting the fastest time in qualifying and holding the fastest time in the country this season. However, the Championships weren’t even in Jean’s plans a couple months ago. “It’s my first nationals actually. It wasn’t in my plan like a month and a half ago before I won OFSAA. Then I won OFSAA so I was like, I might as well try my best and make it to national gold.”
Try his best he did. The recent Gisele Lalonde graduate lived up to the pre-final expectations, blasting out of the blocks and making up the stagger on most of the field by about the 150 metre mark before running away from the competition to win in 54.42 – a full second up on second place.
Helena Jovic rounded out the trio of hurdle medals with a silver in the U20 women’s race. However, a medal looked like it may have been out of the cards after Jovic smacked hurdle two for the second day. “It wasn’t as bad as the semis, but I told myself ‘It’s okay. You just have to recover from it.’ So I did that and was happy,” said Jovic of hitting the hurdle.
Jovic hit the overdrive button with 150 metres and began to claw back the field, metre by metre, in a move reminiscent of her OFSAA victory last month. Coming off the final hurdle in a virtual tie for third, the John McCrae grad was able to pick off one final runner, Shaleah Colaire of the Durham Legion, to finish in 1:00.86.
The Championships concluded with eight relay races and five medals for the Lions, including four golds. Among the golden performances, the U20 women’s 4×400 metre team of Audrey Gilmour, Doyin Ogunremi, Helena Jovic and Lauren Gale put forth one of the more impressive efforts as the quartet bested the field nearly four seconds as they took the title in three minutes and 48.24 seconds. The performance now ranks the women sixth in club history.
Other medal winning performances included the following:
Senior Men’s 4x100m GOLD 45.06
(Timothy Valentine, Alex Manuel, Kevin Nault, Sebastian Saville)
Senior Women’s 4x400m GOLD 3:52.57
(Mary Ollier, Maeliss Trapeau, Rebecca Brennan, Svetlana Martynova)
Senior Men’s 4x400m GOLD 3:17.48
(Saj Alhaddad, Andrew Heffernan, Stephen Evans, Sebastian Saville)
U20 Men’s 4x400m SILVER 3:25.28
(Sam Frankowski, Leewinchel Jean, Quinn Lyness, Zach Meredith)

With 27 athletes competing on Super Saturday at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, the opportunity for a strong medal was high and the the athletes did not disappoint bringing home seven medals including three gold.
Wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy kicked things off with his third win of the championship, taking the T54 800 metres in a time of one minute and 41.61 seconds. Each of the three victories had a very distinct feel to it with last night’s being a hard charge around silver medalist Alexandre Dupont after Dupont surged to the front as the racer’s approached the bell.
“You never really know how it’s going to go, no matter how you plan something,” said the Paralympian after the race. ” You always have a bit of an idea or a couple of ideas and then you just need to be able to run with it on the fly and then go with it. ”
Cassidy certainly did go with it he would not relent, pushing hard at Dupont from 400 to 600 metres. As the pair approached the home stretch Cassidy had a firm handle on the lead as he sailed through to yet another victory.
Next to step atop the podium was Lauren Gale as she captured her first Canadian U20 championship, taking the 400 metres in a time of 54.37 seconds. The national leader in the event all season was pleased with the result. “It feels pretty good. I knew I had some good competition to run against and I’m just happy to bring home the gold.”
The final gold of the evening came from Kevin Robertson as he owned the U20 3000m steeplechase, setting the pace and running away from the field to win in a personal best time of 9:13.94. “I wanted to win, but I also wanted to run fast so I knew I was going to go to the front and run hard,” said Robertson of his race plan. Robertson, who will run for the Syracuse Orangemen this fall moves to seventh on the club’s all-time list with his time Saturday night, bumping coach Kirk Dillabaugh out of the top 10.
Joining Robertson on the podium was teammate Will Cox who snagged bronze in a personal best time of nine minutes and 26.34 seconds. For Cox, his race plan was simple, “I came in hoping for a medal and just put myself in that spot from the start.” This was the second time this season the pair of Robertson and Cox had finished in 1-3 in a major championship after doing so over the 2000 metre steeplechase at OFSAA.
For Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, her return to the Canadian Championships didn’t quite have the Cinderalla ending many had anticipated as she placed second in a time of 2:02.40, falling short of the World Championship standard of 2:00.60. The 2017 champion at 800 metres sat out the 2018 season with the birth of her daughter Corinne last July and was hoping to use this year’s event to regain her title and qualify for Doha.
“I obviously didn’t tackle any of my goals I came here to do. I was hoping to win and get the world standard. I think now is about getting ready for October and getting over and trying to catch standard and get to Worlds and really prepare to be there.”
Bishop pushed the pace early on, hitting the bell in the lead at 59 seconds. As she extended the lead through 600 metres, the pack narrowed the gap as they entered the home stretch setting up just another of the many photo finishes from the Championship. With the pack running four wide, a gap opened and the University of Toronto’s Madeline Kelly snuck past Bishop-Nriagu to edge her by three hundredths of a second for gold.
When Oluwasegun Makinde stepped onto the track for this year’s Championship, it was not for his customary run at 100 or 200 metres. Rather, the two time Olympian returned to an event he had success in as a junior, the 110 metre hurdles. Makinde, who was once the Canadian High School record holder in the event, captured silver Saturday night in a time of 14.29 seconds.
Makinde who spent some time training the event last season at Louisiana State University has largely been away from the hurdles since being a finalist at the USport Championships in 2013.
“[Hurdles] two and three, not rough. Middle was alright. Seven, eight, nine were a bit rough. Came off ten and just ran home. I’m not going to lie. I was trying to stay close to Damian [Warner] because my technique just isn’t their yet,” said the former University of Ottawa athlete in a frank description of his finals race. ”
The final medal of the evening came from Divya Biswal in the triple jump. The Club record holder managed a best leap of 12.67 metres to take silver, improving upon her bronze from the 2018 Championships.
 

The motto for today’s morning session at the Canadian Track and Field Championships was simple – win and advance. In total, five athletes advanced to finals set for Sunday, highlighted by strong showing in the 400 metre hurdles.
Defending silver medalist Saj Alhaddad kicked things off with a comfortable victory in the senior men’s event as he won his heat in 54.17 seconds. Alhaddad entered the championship on a bit of a high after setting the Club record in the 300m hurdles two weeks ago followed by the second fastest run of his career as he captured provincial silver. The 400 metre hurdle finals go Sunday morning at 10:45.
Alhaddad wasn’t the only one to win their hurdle heat, with U20 runners Helena Jovic and Leewinchel Jean coming back from last weekend’s Pan American Junior Championships to each win their heat in different ways.
Jean was business like about his description of his winning run of 55.42 seconds. “I was on the inside, so I just had to execute my race and make sure I was in the lead at the 200 metre mark,” described the future University of Windsor student. “I saw some guy at the 150 mark and I just had to push past him.”
For Jovic, hitting hurdle two seemed to throw her a bit, but she managed to maintain her composure as she pushed back to take her heat in 1:02.74. As for how she looks to clean things up for tomorrow, Jovic’s recipe is simple, “get a lot of rest, have a clear mindset and have a smooth race.”
While she didn’t win, Mary Ollier did manage to advance on time. The 24 year old was all smiles when it was announced her time of 1:01.93 would be good enough to move. Ollier, who had been pushing for spot in last year’s final in Ottawa until a crash running off the final hurdle pushed her out of contention, was gleeful at the opportunity to race in her first national final. “I’m just so happy to be here. I’ll have fun,” she said.
The morning session concluded with two finals on the track, each feature a Lion runner. For Joe Fast, he expected a quicker pace than Friday’s heats and stuck to his plan of just going with it. Unfortunately for Fast, he fell out of contention around 900 metres, but was able to maintain some contact with the top five as he finished sixth in 3:55.89.
In the women’s race, Nina Whitford looked strong, holding well with the chase pack through the bell. Unfortunately for Whitford, she got caught up with one of the other competitors and took a tumble with about 350 metres to go. While she quickly recovered, she did fall back in the standings, dropping to 11th in 4:45.74.
Action continues tonight at Claude Robillard in Montreal lots of Lions in action, including Melissa Bishop and her run for another Canadian Championship and a spot at the World Championships in Doha.
 

While everyone in the stadium was fixated on the 100 metre finals, it was the discus circle that gave rise to the only medal for Lions during Friday’s evening session at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. Tommy Nedow hurled the two kilogram platter out to 48.21 metres for bronze in the discus. While the mark was off of his personal best of 51.85 metres set earlier this season, it was Nedow’s first national medal at the senior level.
Back on the track, the focus was on Melissa Bishop-Nriagu as she toed the line in the 800 metre semi-finals. The two time Olympian looked extremely comfortable as she won her heat with a time of 2:03.03 in just her second race of the season.
“It was more about just getting out to the first 400 in a good position and then really pushing when we get near the finish line,” said Bishop-Nriagu of her race plan. As for her plan in the final, it’s quite simple, “Come away with the World Championship standard (2:00.60) and defend my title.”
In the men’s event, Stephen Evans found a big Q beside his name after going toe to toe with Canadian record holder Brandon McBride. Evans was running shoulder to shoulder entering the final home stretch before McBride pulled ahead, leaving Evans to cross second in 1:50.89. Tonight’s final will be Evans’ first ever at the Canadian Championships and he’s intending to make a splash by finding his way on to the podium.
With the evening culminating with the 100m finals, Shanna Boutilier got in on the action by claiming a bronze in the Para Ambulatory event. The medal was Boutilier’s third of the championship and second bronze while her time of 14.79 was a seasonal best.

It was just a little more than 12 hours after taking gold in the Para Wheelchair 5000 metres and Joshua Cassidy was ascending to the top of the medal podium once again – this time in the the 1500 metres. The veteran won comfortably in a time of three minutes and 8.51 seconds as his margin of victory stretched to nearly six seconds. A significant change from the previous night half a second separated the same three medalists.
“I wanted to push the pace today. Yesterday it surprised me how close it was and in a longer race which is more my forte,” said Cassidy talking about his approach to today’s race compared to the 5,000m.”It’s getting used to the track. I made a tire change. Just paying attention to the other athletes and getting a feel for their strengths and weaknesses. Just try and make the best decision for your own tactics.”
With the 800 metres still to come, Cassidy isn’t saying much about his approach. “It’s another race all over. I’ll probably try something different.”
Shanna Boutilier also found her way to the medal podium with a bronze in the Para Ambulatory 200m. The 21 year old crossed the line in 30.70 seconds to finish just ahead of former Lion Larissa Brown. The bronze is Boutilier’s second medal of the championship after a silver at 400 metres.
This morning’s session was also busy with semi-final runs for both the U20 400 and 1500 metres. Each distance saw a pair of Lions qualify to Saturday finals led by Lauren Gale in the women’s 400 metres and Joe Fast in the men’s 1500 metres.
Fast was slow in his semi-final, but maintained his spot among the top four in his heat to automatically qualify for Saturday’s final with a time of 4:01.50. The Ridgemont High School student is two years younger than much of field, but he sees that as an advantage for him. “[My age] gives me confidence and takes the pressure off. I want a medal and I think it’s achievable”.
Nina Whitford will also run on Saturday, qualifying for the U20 women’s 1500 metre final. The University of Guelph student was fourth in her heat to secure on of the automatic spots, crossing the line in a personal best four minutes and 36.41 seconds.
At 400 metres, Lauren Gale and Helena Jovic book ended the list of qualifiers. Gale was the fastest this morning, taking her heat in 55.12 seconds, while Jovic qualified with a time of 57.17 seconds. Both ladies are fresh off the Pan Am U20 Championships last weekend in Costa Rica where Gale was part of a Canadian record setting 4×400 metre relay team. The Colorado State University runner says she has endured the longest season of her career, but remains focused on a gold in the final.
 

It may be a year away, but Tokyo and the 2020 Paralympic Games is front of mind for veteran wheelchair racer Joshua Cassidy. The 34 year old took another step towards Tokyo with a victory in last night’s Para Wheelchair 5000m at the Canadian Championships, winning in 11:19.28.
“I’ve been in great shape the last year or two, like the best I’ve ever been, but it’s just getting equipment right and some good luck,” Cassidy said following his race. “Just having the consistency in the performance here and then in the next year is what’s most important for Worlds and Tokyo.”
Thursday night’s victory was just one of three events on the schedule for Cassidy this weekend in Montreal. He will also contest the 800m and 1500m this weekend where it is expected he and 5000m medalists Tristan Smith and Alexandre Dupont will battle again. The trio should put on quite the show as all figure into Canada’s all-time top four in each of the events.
Looking forward to Friday’s 1500m final, Cassidy’s goal is simple: “I’m just trying to win.” However, he highlighted the point that that may escape the casual viewer. “Every track is so different for us rolling a lot more; the density of it really plays a part. Tristan and I are both pretty big guys so it affects us, playing with our tactics and strategies a bit more.”
Shanna Boutilier picked up a silver in the Para Ambulatory 400m Thursday evening with a time of 1:06.38. Like Cassidy, it was the first of three events she’ll be contesting this weekend with the 100 and 200 metre events to follow.
 
 
 
 
 

In preparation for next year’s World Master’s Championships set for Toronto next summer, a number of Lions athletes head south on the 401 last weekend to compete at the North and Central America and Caribbean Region of World Masters Athletics Championships in the Ontario capital.
The small contingent of athletes brought home a number of medals and a Canadian record. The medal haul was led by the duo of Liz Maguire and Wendy Alexis who each captured a pair of gold medals.
Alexis, who is no stranger to the international masters athletics scene completed the sprint double, taking the W60 100m and 200m titles. The former world champion was the only athlete in the field to crack the 14 second barrier, winning in a time of 13.98 seconds. That performance was followed up by a time of 30.01 seconds in the 200m.
Similarly, Maguire completed the middle distance sweep, taking the W50 800m and 1500m titles. While her margin of victory was less than half a second over the two lap race (2:29.08), Maguire’s victory at 1500m was more convincing as she won by a second and a half in 5:05.66.
Setting a new Canadian record was Hazel Harding, who teamed up with Tanya Sakharov, Sheree Mulligs and Alessia Berti to win the W35 4x400m relay. Competing in a category ten year’s her junior, Harding helped the quartet to a time of four minutes and 25.85 seconds. Harding also picked up a silver in the W45 4x100m.
Serge Faucher was also a member of one of Canada’s medal winning relay teams as he and teammates Ken Kudo, Bruce Rosvall and Chris Lemassif were second across the line in the M50 4x100m with a time of 48.47 seconds. Faucher’s relay success was his second medal of the championship as he took bronze in the M55 200m with a time of 25.90 seconds, running into a nasty 3.0 metre per second head wind.
The final medal of the championship came from the group’s oldest member, 71 year old Stan Seitz. The septuagenarian had a strong performance in the pole vault with a best clearance of 2.70m.