Posts tagged: Canadian Masters Athletics

For the second time this year, the Montreal area played host to a national championship. This past weekend, Canada’s best masters athletes competed at Stade Claude-Ferragne in the suburb of Laval. The small but mighty Ottawa Lions team captured a total of 12 medals over the three-day event.

Wendy Alexis continued to do Wendy Alexis things as she left Laval with a pair of medals in both the W65 100 and 200 metre events. Alexis, fresh off a pair of victories at the Pan American Masters Games, posted winning times of 14.60 and 30.34 seconds respectively. 

In the W40 category, Kimberley Howitt showcased her versatility by capturing a full set of medals. Her highlight was a gold medal in the 400m with a time of 1:04.63, followed closely by teammate Edith Duarte, who finished in 1:05.38 to take silver.

Howitt also earned a silver medal in the 800m with a time of 2:28.42 and a bronze in the 200m, setting a personal best of 29.90 seconds. Duarte edged out Howitt in the 200m, taking home the silver with a time of 29.47 seconds.

Michael Conway dominated the M40 800m, capturing gold with a strong and strategic race. His winning time of 2:06.73 was more than eight seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

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Two Lions athletes showcased impressive speed in the 100 meters. Lionel Nahum (M50) and Michel Smith (M55) each earned a bronze medal for their outstanding efforts. Nahum clocked a windy 12.66 seconds, while Smith crossed the finish line in 13.68 seconds.

In the field events, Stan Seitz brought home double gold in the M75 category. He cleared 2.25 meters in the pole vault and 1.25 meters in the high jump to secure his victories.

Michel Smith sprinted to a silver medal in the M55 200m, while Mike McInerney secured a bronze in the 800m.

Next up for many of our masters athletes is the World Masters Athletics Championships next week in Göteborg, Sweden.

For updated Club rankings, please visit this link.

In a weekend filled with no less than 24 medals, the 2024 Canadian Masters Indoor Track and Field Championship was an unbridled success for members of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club led by two outstanding women who top the world in their respective events.

Leading the charge in the medal tally was the fastest woman on the planet for her age – Wendy Alexis. The 68-year-old sprinted her way to gold in the 50, 60, and 200 metre events to bring her lifetime medal tally to an even 30 gold medals from the Canadian Masters Championships indoors and out. Alexis produced world leading times of 7.81 and 30.89 seconds respectively in the 50 and 200 metres, while her time of 8.98 seconds in the 60 metres was just two hundredths of a second off her world leading time set last month.

Liz Maguire produced the fastest time in the world this year en-route to winning the W55 800 metres. Maguire’s time of 2 minutes and 32.41 seconds bested the previous world lead from the United States’ Michelle Rohl by more than a second. At 1500 metres, Maguire’s winning time 5:08.73 would have topped the world rankings if not for her own faster run earlier this season.

Jay Sneddon also doubled up in the distance events, taking home top spot in the M30 1500 and 3000 metre events. Sneddon’s wins came in times of 4:43.84 and 9:50.93 respectively.

In his first, Canadian Masters Championship, Simon Ha sprinted his way to victory in the M35 50 and 200 metre events while adding a bronze at 60 metres. Veteran competitor Andrew Heffernan claimed the gold in the Men’s 200m for the 35-and-above category and then ran a leg on a Canadian Record breaking 4×400 metre relay team.

Rosalind Muir demonstrated her speed prowess by clinching gold in the W50 200 metres with a time of 36.23 seconds and also notched silvers in both the 50 and 60 metre events.

The women’s 35 and over 800 metre title went to Kimberley Howitt in a time of 2 minutes and 32.28 seconds. Howitt also claimed silver at 400 metres. In similar fashion, the ageless San Seitz topped the field in the M75 high jump with a clearance of 1.25 metres and took silver in the long jump with a leap of 2.95 metres.

Noteworthy performances continued with Michael Conway’s silver in the M35 800m and Michel Smith’s bronze in the M50 200m. Ashley Crawford displayed a commendable bronze trifecta in the Women’s W35 50, 200, and 400 metre events.

Next up for our masters competitors is the Ontario Championships this coming Sunday in Toronto

For updated performance rankings, please visit https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/