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Canada Track & Field and Cross Country News

All four Canadian teams place in top 10 at today's World Cross Country Championships Chris Kelsall Mar 24, 2013

Emily Hooper - Athletics Canada

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Bydgoszcz, Poland - All four Canadian teams finished in the top ten at today's International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Cross Country Championships.  The senior women's team placed eighth, the junior men and senior women placed ninth while the junior men's team placed tenth.

Jim Finlayson Attempts Canadian Record - Comox Valley Half Marathon Chris Kelsall Mar 23, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Jim Finlayson of Victoria, BC will attempt to take down the Canadian master’s (40-plus) age-group record for the half-marathon, Sunday March 23rd at the Comox Valley Half Marathon in Courtney, BC. The current record is held by Kingston, Ontario’s Steve Boyd, which stands at hour and six minutes and thirty-three seconds. The race starts at 11:00 AM PST.

Team Canada - Ready For IAAF World Cross Country Championships Chris Kelsall Mar 21, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Athletics Canada has sent a talented and fit contingent of athletes to the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships that take place in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Sunday, March 24th. This is the 40th annual edition of the event that started in 1973 in Waregem, Belgium.

Martinson Prevails at the St. Patrick's Day 5k - On a New Fast Course Chris Kelsall Mar 20, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Six days after Victoria's Geoff Martinson stepped off the plane in Sidney, BC, (feeling completely under the weather) to win a come-from-behind five kilometre race in 14 minutes and 32 seconds against second and third place finishers Ryan Brockerville of Vancouver and Clifford Childs of Victoria, he flew to Vancouver to pull off the trick again, at the popular St. Patrick’s Day 5k. He raced almost the same group however, this time he wasn’t feeling sick as a dog. Martinson won in 14:37.88 to Child’s 14:42.58. Third went to Nanaimo’s Forrest Simpson who finished in 14:47.65. “I was definitely feeling better this time around,” said Martinson.

Martinson Wins Synergy Health Bazan Bay 5k - Nine under 15:00 Chris Kelsall Mar 11, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Nine men ran under 15 minutes in the Synergy Health Management Bazan Bay 5k in Sidney, BC on Sunday, March 10th. The overall winner was former University of Victoria Vikes star athlete, Geoff Martinson of Victoria, BC who finished in a near dead-heat with Vancouver’s Ryan Brockerville – a Simon Fraser University grad and current member of Point Grey Track and Field Club - in the time of 14:32. Third went to former University of Victoria Vike Clifford Childs in 14:40.

Synergy Health Management Bazan Bay 5k - a Competitive Race Chris Kelsall Mar 07, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

The fastest event of the 2013 Vancouver Island Race Series, the Synergy Health Management Bazan Bay 5k road race is happening this Sunday, March 10th in Sidney, BC (approximately 20 kilometres north of Victoria). The course is flat, fast and provides the potential for very good results. Because of the nature of the flat and straight course the field, as usual, will be competitive.  

The favourite in the men’s division is Goeff Martinson of Victoria, BC. He is looking to defend his win from 2012, where he set the new course and all-time event record in the time of 14:20, where he was not challenged. This year may be different.

Rob Denault - Interview Chris Kelsall Mar 05, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Rob Denault, who competes for the Villanova University Wildcats just wrapped up his 2013 indoor track season by acheiving one of his primary goals; running a sub-four minute mile at an indoor meet. He did so by running just under the benchmark of 3:59.39 as a freshman at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Loftus Sports Center on Saturday, March 2nd.

Denault hails from Aurora, Ontario. 

Denault earned All-Mid Atlantic Region honours and helped Villanova receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by finishing 19th overall at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. He crossed the finish line in that race in 30:54 and was the Wildcats fifth counting runner. He also finished in the team's top five at all five scored meets during the cross-country season and placed second on the team and 53rd overall at the Pre-NCAA meet with a collegiate-best 8K time of 24:04.7. 

 

CIS and NCAA Championship Previews Andrew Maloney Mar 04, 2013

The men's CIS Indoor Championships could be a repeat of the runaway at the Ontario Championships while the women's meet could be decided on the final straightaway of the 4x400m relay -- South of the border several Canadians will be in action at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Arkansas where the hometown Razorbacks are expected to win the men's title for the first time since 2006.

Hajo Seppelt Interview - On Apparent Kenyan Doping Chris Kelsall Feb 27, 2013

Hans-Joachim “Hajo” Seppelt is a journalist for ARD, a nationwide German TV and radio broadcasting network located in Berlin. He is, as his bio indicates, a film author who is involved in creating features and reporting for all of the German state broadcasting institutions. At this time, he is primarily reporting for the regional WDR network with the doping editorial team (WDR in Cologne).

Seppelt is also a reporter and expert for the ARD network on doping, politics in sport and coverage of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, as well as other major sports events.
Seppelt recently spent time undercover in Kenya posing as a sports agent. His report, broadcast on German television as well as radio, created a firestorm of controversy within Athletics Kenya. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President John Fahey visited Kenya and asked the sports officials to investigate the matter.

One of the athletes implicated Mathew Kisorio, has received a two-year suspension. As a result of the broadcast Athletics Kenya’s Chairman Isaiah Kiplagat announced an ultimatum on October 17th that all foreign coaches working in Kenya without permits must leave the country in one week’s time. The announcement came one week after the report aired.

Courtney Babcock - Interview Chris Kelsall Feb 25, 2013

Chatham, Ontario’s Courtney Babcock is a distance runner who competed in the NCAA for the Division 1 University of Michigan Wolverines. At the time she earned a full-ride scholarship, but only at the last minute. Until her final year of high school, she was more interested in basketball and swimming and parlayed excellent general fitness into running competitively at a last chance meet.

She later went onto to compete for Canada in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the 2001 and 2003 IAAF World Track and Field Championships that took place in Edmonton and Paris, respectively. Babcock also competed in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Thrice, she competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
She holds the Canadian 5000m and 10000m records of 14:54.98 and 31:44.74.

She is currently a mother of two boys and is coaching the University of Montana Grizzlies.

Speed River Inferno Chris Kelsall Feb 22, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

As part of the grand opening of their brand new state-of-the-art Alumni Stadium, Guelph, Ontario's Speed River Track and Field Club will host a unique, high-performance track meet on May 28th, called the Speed River Inferno. The event will be unusually fast, not just in regards to the pace that the athletes will be burning up the track with, but also in the length-of-time that the entire meet will take to showcase the elite talent that they are expecting to host. The Inferno meet will be just 60-to-90 minutes in length.

Stephen Kiprotich Interview Chris Kelsall Feb 19, 2013

 

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated 

Twenty-three-year old 2012 London Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Stephen Kiprotich, of Uganda, is currently preparing to compete in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 21st. He owns a personal best time of 2:07:20, which he accomplished at the 2011 Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands, the the Ugandan record. His Olympic medal is the first gold for his country since his personal hero John Akii-Bua won won the 400m event at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

The Stunning Removal of Wrestling from the Olympic Games Chris Kelsall Feb 18, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated                                                                                                                                                                 

On Tuesday, February 12th, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a stunning and highly criticized move to strip wrestling, one of the world’s oldest sports, from the Olympics. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games will have wrestling, the exclusion starts with the 2020 Games, for which a host city is not yet named.

Dick Pound, former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and former vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told Athletics Illustrated, “At a time when the fundamental Olympic values are under great pressure (just see what is going on in cycling and football, among others), the decision of the IOC Executive Board to exclude one of the most traditional of the Olympic sports seems counter-intuitive. This is all the more so when the obvious split among the members of the Executive Board suggests not a principled consideration and decision, but subjective personal opinion, perhaps in some cases influenced by conflict, or perceived conflict, of interest.”

Declan White - Interview Chris Kelsall Feb 06, 2013

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Twenty-year-old middle-distance specialist, Declan White of South Surrey, British Columbia has committed to competing for Trinity Western University for the start of the 2013 and 2014 school year. He is competitive in the range of distances from 400m to the 3000m as well as cross-country.

On February 2nd he competed in the Jerome Indoor Classic 1500m event, finishing a respectable third behind the seasoned Geoff Martinson and Chris Winter in the time of 3:55.73. White will be competing at the Millrose Games later this month in the 4 x 800m, then plans to begin training in earnest for his first year of University.

Rob Guy - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 30, 2013

 

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

Rob Guy took over as CEO of Athletics Canada in October 2010 and has led a number of initiatives aimed at improving the depth and breadth of the sport of athletics in Canada as well as increasing communication and raising awareness of the sport. As the organization moves on from the 2012 London Olympic Games, Mr. Guy recently made a few personnel changes aimed at re-organizing and re-energizing the organization with a look towards 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Andrew Maloney: One of your stated goals for the sport in this country upon taking over as CEO of Athletics Canada was that different groups start working together more cohesively. What progress have you seen in this area?

Team Canada Nearly Sweeps NACAC Cross Country Championships Chris Kelsall Jan 28, 2013

 

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

By Emily Hooper (Athletics Canada) with Christopher Kelsall and Thelma Wright

Full results below

On Saturday, January 26, Team Canada won three of four events at the 2013 North American Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championships (NACAC) in Mandeville, Jamaica. The three teams:  senior women and junior men and women won their team events while senior men finished second overall.

"It was a terrific day for the Canadian team here in Mandeville, Jamaica; we could not be more thrilled. I'm especially pleased for our senior women, notably Natasha (Fraser) and Rachel (Cliff), who completely rocked the race," said team head coach Dave Christiani. He adds, "All of our entries made us proud today. The NACAC Championships are always a valuable experience for juniors leading up to the World Champs."
The women's senior team (18 points) won with a significant lead over the second place United States (26 points). Natasha Fraser and Rachel Cliff finished one-two in 21:07 and 21:35 respectively. "I am so happy to be part of the winning Canadian team; such an amazing experience," said an excited Fraser.

Deena Kastor - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 27, 2013

 

© Copyright - 2013 - Athletics Illustrated

American marathon record holder Deena Kaster, of Mammoth Lakes, California has announced that she will compete in the 2013 LA Marathon that takes place on Sunday, March 17.

Her recent performances of note were the Olympic Marathon Trials that took place in Houston, TX in January of 2012, where she finished in sixth place in the time of two hours and 34 minutes. Three months later on April 29th, she competed in the 10000m event at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, CA, where she placed seventh, finishing in 31 minutes and 49.23 seconds.

Kastor currently holds seven American distance records including the marathon best time of 2:19:36 and the half-marathon record of 67:34. She is also the bronze medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Marathon. Kastor has also won the Chicago and London Marathons.