In a weekend marked by fierce competition and record-breaking performances, the Ottawa Lions once again demonstrated their dominance as one of Canada’s top track and field clubs. The team returned home with nine medals—three gold, three silver, and three bronze—alongside 14 personal bests.
Oppong-Nketiah’s Double Gold
Jorai Oppong-Nketiah continued to solidify her status as one of Canada’s most promising young athletes with two record-breaking performances in the U18 Girls 100m and 200m events.
Kicking off the championships with the 100 metres, Oppong-Nketiah set a championship record of 11.43 seconds to capture gold on Friday evening. This performance, combined with her outstanding runs at the Canadian U20 Championship, now gives her the three fastest U18 100-metre times ever recorded in Canadian history—with one year still remaining in the category.
In the 200 metres, Oppong-Nketiah rewrote a long-standing club record, capturing her second gold medal of the championship with a time of 23.90 seconds. Not even a 3.5-meter-per-second headwind could prevent her from surpassing Lauren Gale’s previous club record of 24.03 seconds, set in 2016.
Jeggo’s Record-Breaking Weekend
One of the busiest athletes of the weekend, Zachary Jeggo, also emerged as the most decorated. Jeggo left Calgary with four medals and a championship record from two individual events and two relays.
Jeggo raced to victory in the 400-metre hurdles, clocking an impressive 52.67 seconds. This performance not only shattered his own club U18 record but also broke the championship record of 53.02 seconds, which had stood for nearly a decade—long before the 17-year-old was even born.
In the 400 metres, without hurdles in his way, Jeggo posted a time of 48.33 seconds to finish second. This marked his second national silver medal of the summer, following a similar performance at the Canadian U20 Championships in June.
Beyond his individual success, Jeggo played a crucial role in two medal-winning relay teams.
Teaming up with Ammiel Williams, Kyle London, and Ange-Mathis Kramo, the U18 Boys 4×400-metre relay team delivered one of the standout performances of the championships, crossing the finish line in 3 minutes and 19.07 seconds. Their performance shattered the club’s U18 record, set at last year’s championships.
The 4x100m relay team of Jimmy Lu Langley, Jesse Costanzo, Jeggo, and Kramo also etched their names into the relay record books. The quartet completed the race in 42.03 seconds, breaking the club’s U18 record that had stood since 2007 and securing the bronze medal.
A Dominant Display in Javelin
Mallea McMullin’s performance in the U16 Girls Javelin was nothing short of commanding. With an opening throw of 39.19 metres, McMullin won the event by a remarkable 6.5 metres. Her victory marks her as the latest in a line of Lions athletes to claim the national U16 javelin title, following in the footsteps of Sara Collins (2002), Sultana Frizell (1999), and Louise Perreault (1983).
Coughlin’s Resilient Comeback
After a disappointing run in Saturday’s 400-metre final, Quinn Coughlin demonstrated remarkable resilience as she rebounded the following day in the 400-metre hurdles to claim her first individual national title. Living up to her pre-event ranking, Coughlin was first across the line with a time of 1:01.34.
Kramo’s Sprint to Silver
Ange-Mathis Kramo continued to raise his national profile, adding to the Lions’ medal tally with a silver in the U18 Boys 200 metres. His time of 21.53 seconds places him second on the Lions’ all-time list, trailing Olympian Oluwasegun Makinde by just a tenth of a second.
Full results from the Championship can be found on our website.
Updated Club rankings can be found at https://milesrowat.shinyapps.io/ottl_rankings/