Posts tagged: Canadian Championships

OTTAWA, Ont. — Rain and wind swept through Terry Fox Athletic Facility again on day three of the Canadian Track and Field Championships Presented by Bell, but the conditions did little to slow the Ottawa Lions, who came away with four medals on the strength of a podium-heavy night in the 400m finals.

Zachary Jeggo set the tone on Friday’s evening session as he upgraded his bronze from a year ago to gold in a time of 47.56 seconds. The Simon Fraser University student has had a year to write home about, setting a Canadian U20 record indoors at 400m, being named to the World Relay Championships team and now national champion. With his win Friday night, Jeggo will now represent Canada at the upcoming World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, later this summer.

Joining Jeggo on the podium was teammate Ange-Mathis Kramo who claimed bronze in 47.80 seconds. Ayoub Shangai placed fourth in 48.68 seconds to produce one of the strongest finishes by any Club at the Championship.

Less than 10 minutes later it was Lauren Gale’s turn to take her spot on top of the podium. The 26-year-old has twice been a runner up at the Canadian Championships, but in front of a very partisan home crowd, the two-time Olympian claimed victory over Edmonton’s Diana Proctor with a time of 51.94 seconds. Similar to Jeggo, Gale’s victory assures her ticket to Glasgow later this summer for the Commonwealth Games. 

Rounding out the evening was Mallea McMullin, who added a bronze medal in the U20 women’s javelin with a best throw of 38.51m. For the 16-year-old, a former Canadian U16 champion, this is her first U20 medal.

In semi-final action on the track, Maëliss Trapeau (800m) and David Moulongou (400m Hurdles) both advanced to their respective finals on Saturday, while Augustine Uche qualified for the U20 men’s 110m hurdle semifinal. In the field, a trio of triple jumpers moved on to Saturday’s final with Elizabeth Moreland, Sarah Ouangre, and Ella-Grace Gilbert all advancing. 

OTTAWA, Ont. — Day two of the Canadian Track and Field Championships presented by Bell may go down in the records books as one of the rainiest on record as more than an inch of rain fell over the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, but it was not enough to dampen the results of Lions athletes as they picked up three medals – their first of the week.

Daniel Cova got the Lions on the board – taking home the silver medal in the U20 Men’s 5000m for the second straight year. The Iona University athlete and eventual winner Brendan Currie of the WinCity Endurance Project broke free of the field by the first kilometre and just kept going. Cova would lose contact with Currie after 2200m, running the remainder of the race largely on his own – finishing in 14:54.38 as strong winds tested the athletes in more ways than one.

Cova wasn’t the only Lion in the field as teammate Charlie Mortimer set a personal best of 15:18.04 for eighth. Saul Taler was 12th and Owen Recoskie 13th.

For the third straight year, Connor Fraser is the second best discus thrower in Canada as he captured a silver medal Thursday night with a throw of 49.73m. Fraser, a Carleton University student, missed the entire collegiate competition season and Thursday’s competition was his first and only competition of the year.  

After a gruelling two days of competition in the decathlon, Kyle London stepped off the track Thursday evening with a bronze medal around his neck. The 18-year-old University of Ottawa student won both the discus and 1500m events on the second day as he racked up a personal best score of 6382 points – less than 50 points shy of Taylor Corney’s U20 Club record set in 2009.

The 400m was the star of the morning session as no fewer than four Lions athletes advanced to Friday night’s 400m finals. Lauren Gale was the top qualifier in the senior women’s 400m, while Zachary Jeggo, Ange-Mathis Kramo and Ayoub Shangai all advanced to the U20 men’s 400m final — the same trio that anchored the Lions’ Canadian club-record 4x400m relay last year.

Maria Okwechime, the 2023 Canadian champion, advanced to the senior women’s long jump final with a leap of 5.89m in qualifying. 

In the middle distance qualifying, Timothy Kelly-MacLean advanced to the U20 men’s 800m semifinals, while Shannon Dewar, Autumn Sakiyama and Ciara Villeneuve all moved through to the women’s 800m semifinals. André Alie-Lamarche and Nico Belan both advanced out of the qualifying rounds in the senior men’s 1500m.

Rounding out the day, Tessa Knight (11:23.79) and Kyra Lauter (11:32.64) each set personal bests in the U20 3000m steeplechase. The pair now rank fifth and sixth, respectively, among Lions U20s in club history.

Results are available at live.athletics.ca

In a season marked by disruption, Ottawa Lions athletes delivered a powerful statement of resilience at the Canadian Indoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend. Training without their usual indoor home following last year’s collapse of the Louis-Riel Dome, the Lions rose to the occasion on the national stage, capturing five medals — including three gold — and rewriting portions of the club’s indoor record book in the process.

Leading the way was high jumper Maxime Cazabon, who continued his steady ascent through the age-group ranks with another national title in the U18 boys competition.

The reigning U16 indoor and outdoor champion cleared 1.90 metres to secure gold on Friday. Cazabon controlled the competition from the outset and effectively sealed the victory with a first-attempt clearance at 1.81m, putting himself firmly in command. His 1.90m clearance ultimately proved more than enough to secure top spot and add another national title to his growing résumé.

Also striking gold in the field events was 15-year-old pole vaulter Anabelle Muir, who delivered a composed and efficient series in the U18 girls competition.

Muir clinched the competition with a first-attempt clearance at 3.25 metres before going on to clear 3.35m — also on her first attempt — to secure the victory.

On the track, Penny Roy stepped up to the U18 division and emerged victorious in the 3000-metre race walk. Roy crossed the line in 20:49.96, a performance that now ranks second on the Ottawa Lions’ all-time U18 list.

In one of the weekend’s most tightly contested races, Max Gerundin captured bronze in the U18 boys 800 metres with a lifetime best of 1:56.46.

Gerundin was locked in a dramatic three-way battle with Edge Sport TC’s TJ Woods and Brandon Neil, with just 0.22 seconds separating gold from bronze at the finish line. His time stands as the fastest indoor 800m ever recorded by a U18 boy in club history. A day earlier, Gerundin narrowly missed his personal best in the 1500 metres, placing ninth in 4:06.10.

The Lions’ medal count was rounded out by Liam Mordel, who earned silver in the U16 boys pole vault with a clearance of 2.40 metres.

His older brother, Eli Mordel, delivered a pair of strong performances in the U20 division. Eli cleared 4.40m in the pole vault — ultimately finishing just off the podium after rival Jackson Tuplin secured the same height on fewer attempts — but earlier in the meet he etched his name into the club record book.

Eli clocked 8.14 seconds in the 60-metre hurdles to finish fifth, breaking the longstanding Ottawa Lions U20 indoor record of 8.22 set by Oluwasegun Makinde in 2010.

The Ottawa Lions saved their biggest fireworks for the final day of the 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships, capping the meet with record-breaking runs, national titles, and a podium flurry in front of a roaring home crowd at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

The headline performance came from the U20 men’s 4×400-metre relay team of Ayoub Shangai, Ange-Mathis Kramo, William Sanders, and Zachary Jeggo, who obliterated their own Canadian Club record of 3:14.80 set earlier this year. The quartet stopped the clock in a stunning 3:10.62, upgrading from last year’s silver medal while also rewriting the Canadian Club U23 and Open records — both previously held by Lions squads.

In the U20 women’s 200 metres, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah continued to light up the track with a blistering personal best of 23.54 seconds to claim gold. The victory completed a sprint double for the 17-year-old, who also won the 100m earlier in the week — mirroring the feat she accomplished at last year’s Canadian U18 Championships.

Safwan El Mansari thrived under the championship spotlight, running a personal best of 1:51.14 to capture silver in the U20 men’s 800m. The first Lions male to reach the U20 800m podium since Yves Sikubwabo’s 2012 gold, El Mansari also moved to #6 on the club’s all-time list.

The senior women’s 4x400m continued their dominance, securing a seventh consecutive national title. Alexandra Telford, Sydney Smith, Maëliss Trapeau, and Lauren Gale battled strong winds to finish in an impressive 3:38.31— the second-fastest run in Canadian Club history, behind only the Lions’ 3:35.46 record set in 2023. The Lions B team of Rosemary Holmes, Tatiana Pender, Brooklyn McCormick, and Cora McQuinn took silver in 3:50.30.

Those victories were just the start of a busy afternoon on the baton exchange, as the Lions kept piling up medals across the relay program. The U20 women’s 4x100m team of Chloë Martineau, Teagan Casselman, Kaiya Woodcock, and Livia Buffone stormed to bronze in 47.58, breaking the club record of 47.68 that had stood since 2007. Not to be outdone, the senior women’s 4x100m squad of Paulina Procyk, McQuinn, Courtney Cenac, and Amy Zhang struck gold in 48.19, keeping the Lions atop the national sprint relay podium.

On the men’s side, the senior 4x400m quartet of Leewinchell Jean, El Mansari, William Harris, and David Moulongou battled to a tight bronze-medal finish in 3:16.03, while the senior 4x100m team of Ayomide Omotayo, Leo Wallner, Quinn Lyness, and Fabrice Nonez also claimed bronze with a time of 43.62. In the U20 4x100m, Jaime Tapa, Jamie Meikle, Alexander Forzley, and Xavier Placid stopped the clock in 42.23 for third place — a mark that now ranks #5 all-time in club history.

The final relay podium of the Championships came from the U20 women’s 4x400m, where Shannon Dewar, Norah Nitta MacKay, Sophia McIntyre, and Ellie McGregor combined for a bronze-medal run of 3:55.04.

With an incredible 11 medals on the final day of competition, the Lions closed out the Championships with 19 medals overall. Fuelled by the fantastic home crowd, the team ended the week in emphatic fashion — rewriting history, extending streaks, and setting the stage for the 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships, which will return to Terry Fox Athletic Facility from June 17–21, 2026.

Full results are available on our website.
Club rankings are available at https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/

The medal count continued to climb for the Ottawa Lions on Saturday as four more athletes reached the podium on Day 4 of the 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

In one of the day’s most emotional moments, Maëliss Trapeau delivered a golden homecoming for the host club, capturing the open women’s 800 metres title in a thrilling finish under the stadium lights. Her time of 2:01.79 edged out Royal City’s Jazz Shukla (2:01.95), securing both the first senior national title of her career and the first senior gold medal of the meet for the Ottawa Lions.

“It’s so nice. I’m from the Lions, so it’s like being home,” the 25-year-old told Ottawa Sports Pages. “A lot of people are cheering me on. It’s really nice to hear my name.”

Trapeau’s victory also carries historical significance: she becomes only the second Lion ever to win the women’s 800m national title, following in the footsteps of three-time Olympian Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, who claimed gold on the same track in 2017.

In U20 competition, Zachary Jeggo added to his growing medal collection by winning gold in the 400 metre hurdles, stopping the clock at 52.39. The victory completed a successful title defense for Jeggo, who won U18 gold in the same event last year. Earlier in the championships, he also earned bronze in the U20 400 metres with a seasonal best of 46.87—the second-fastest time of his career.

Daniel Cova also doubled his medal haul, adding U20 1500 metre bronze to his 5000 metre silver from Thursday. Cova made a bold move mid-race, breaking from the pack and pushing the pace from 700 to 1400 metres, before being caught in the final stretch.

Rounding out Saturday’s medal performances was Alexandra Telford, who earned her first individual national medalwith a bronze in the U20 women’s 400 metre hurdles. After collecting seven national medals in relay events, Telford’s solo breakthrough came in impressive fashion as she ran a seasonal best of 59.86 to claim third place.

Elsewhere on the day, Maria Okwechime produced her best long jump performance of the season, leaping a wind-aided 6.11 metres to finish fourth in the competition..

Under brilliant blue skies and in front of a packed home crowd at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah delivered a statement performance, sprinting to her second consecutive Canadian U20 100-metre title. The 17-year-old electrified the stadium with a seasonal-best 11.44 seconds in the semi-final before storming to victory in the final, capping off a golden moment on a picture-perfect day for the Ottawa Lions.

After a string of close finishes earlier in the season, including a loss to Speed Academy’s Elizabeth Tannis at both the OFSAA Championships and the Ontario U20 final, Oppong-Nketiah flipped the script when it mattered most—stopping the clock at 11.48 to reclaim the national crown. She’ll be back in action Sunday in the 200m semi-finals, looking to improve upon her silver medal finish from last year.

In the U20 men’s 400 metres, Zachary Jeggo returned to the podium for the second consecutive year, claiming bronze with a blistering 46.87—the second-fastest time of his career. The race was the deepest in championship history, requiring 47.67 just to make the final. Teammate Ange-Mathis Kramo continued his strong meet with a sixth-place finish in a personal best 47.33, his second PB in as many days.

Earlier in the day, Jeggo led a strong Lions contingent in the 400-metre hurdles qualifying rounds. The reigning national U20 silver medallist comfortably advanced to Saturday’s final with a 53.56 clocking, the second-fastest time in U20 men’s qualifying. David Moulongou, coming off a PB at the World University Games, looked sharp once again with a 52.72, ranking him fifth overall. On the women’s side, Alexandra Telford and Rosemary Holmes both earned return trips to the national final, qualifying third and seventh respectively in the open women’s 400m hurdles.

Olympian Lauren Gale came agonizingly close to the podium in the open women’s 400 metres, finishing fourth in 51.81 seconds. Running from lane 7, Gale went out hard and held a medal position until the closing strides, ultimately falling just short in one of the day’s most thrilling finishes.

In the senior women’s 800m semi-finals, both Maëliss Trapeau and Sydney Smith secured spots in Saturday evening’s final. Trapeau looked composed and in control, cruising to a win in her heat with a time of 2:03.85, while Smith claimed an automatic qualifier with her third-place finish in 2:04.53.

In field event action, Eli Mordel equalled his personal best in the pole vault, clearing 4.30 metres to place sixth in the U20 men’s final. Mallea McMullin delivered a solid effort in the U20 women’s javelin, finishing seventh with a throw of 36.24 metres.

Meanwhile, in the open women’s shot put, Lions throwers were in the mix throughout. Brianna Asiamah landed just outside the medals in fourth with a best of 13.03 metres, while teammate Jessica Gyamfi followed closely in fifth at 12.68 metres.

The action continues Saturday, culminating in on Sunday at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. For full schedule, tickets, and event info, visit athletics.ca.

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