(Ottawa, Canada---09 May 2026) David Moulongou competing at the Ottawa Spring klick Start. 2026 Brian Rouble / Mundo Sport Images. If posting to social media please tag @mundosportimages

Moulongou Breaks 36-Year-Old Club Record at Ottawa Spring Kick Start

by linkinbioLocal

OTTAWA — The outdoor track and field season officially opened in the capital last weekend as the Ottawa Lions hosted the Ottawa Spring Kick Start at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, highlighted by a record-breaking performance from hurdler David Moulongou.

The University of Ottawa student delivered the standout performance of the meet in the men’s 400-metre hurdles, storming to victory in 50.93 to break Craig Hutton’s 36-year-old club record of 51.02 set in 1990. Moulongou controlled the race from the opening strides and crossed the line nearly four seconds ahead of Speed Academy’s Elijah Jones.

The performance marked the first time a Lions athlete had dipped under 51 seconds in the event and set the tone for Moulongou heading into next month’s Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa.

Another breakthrough came in the men’s pole vault where high school senior Eli Mordel cleared 4.60 metres on his first attempt, adding 15 centimetres to his previous personal best. The future York University student also demonstrated his growing sprint speed, clocking a personal best 11.29 seconds in the 100-metre preliminaries.

Sixteen-year-old Anabelle Muir also turned heads over the weekend. Fresh off a Canadian U18-leading clearance of 3.45 metres earlier in the week, Muir sprinted to a massive personal best of 12.34 seconds to place second in the women’s 100-metre final.

Muir helped lead an Ottawa Lions sweep of the podium as Rose Basu claimed the victory in 12.21, while Paulina Procyk matched Muir’s 12.34 performance to finish third. Muir later added another victory in the pole vault, clearing 3.20 metres.

In the throws, 19-year-old Jack Mines delivered one of the top performances of his young career in the junior men’s discus. Mines launched the 1.75-kilogram implement 47.73 metres to move into fifth place all-time on the club’s U20 rankings.

Coming off a storybook indoor season, middle-distance runner Safwan El Mansari opened his outdoor campaign with a dominant victory in the men’s 800 metres, winning by nearly 12 seconds in 1:52.31.

(Guelph, Canada---07 June 2019) Melissa Bishop-Nriagu competing in the 800m at the 2019 Speed River Inferno Track and Field Festival held at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph. This race was Bishop-Nriagu's first 800m after a two year break to have a baby. Copyright image 2019 Sean W Burges / Mundo Sport Images

Lions kick off outdoor season with record and personal bests

by linkinbioNationalUniversity

It’s not often we have athletes lacing up their shoes for outdoor competition in the second week of March, but these times are far from normal. Melissa Bishop-Nriagu and Tommy Nedow each put their opportunity to good use, walking away with personal best performances on the day.

For Bishop-Nriagu, Saturday night’s season debut at 1500 metres was the first competitive step to finding her way on to her third Olympic team, and it was a very good step. The Eganville native crossed the line in four minutes and 9.36 seconds to finish second at the Vic City Elite event behind Lucia Stafford’s 4:06.86. The time equaled Bishop-Nriagu’s own Club record set in 2019. The former world medalist, who temporarily moved to Victoria earlier this year to train with coach Trent Stellingwerf, indicated after the reace she had been bothered by an achy Achilles.

“But I feel good now. Things are going well,”  she told the Victoria Times-Columnist.

For thrower Tommy Nedow, his fourth place finish in the shot put at Friday’s South Alabama Invite in Mobile was second straight personal best effort for the Southeastern Louisiana junior. Nedow’s best mark of 16.93 metres was a single centimetre better than the distance he threw to capture the Southland Conference indoor title two weeks prior. The Brockville native showed strong form in the discus, taking second place with a heave of 51.02 metres.

Nedow’s older brother Tim opened up his 2021 season at the Athletics Ontario High Performance Meet at York University. The 2019 world finalist had a very consistent effort in the shot put, with all his throws landing within 15 centimetres of each other. Nedow’s winning mark of 20.12 metres came on his six and final throw.