Canada Track & Field and Cross Country News

Canadian Women's 800m Olympic Bid - Down to One Race in Calgary Chris Kelsall Jun 21, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

The Canadian Women's 800m team will likely include the maximum three athletes that are permitted for each country, per event, at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The decision will come down to one fateful race that will happen at the Canadian Olympic Track and Field Trials in Calgary, Alberta, June 27th to June 30th.

Until this year, it had been assumed that just one and maybe a second athlete would run the required Canadian Olympic Standards in the women's 800m event. Currently there are four athletes that have run better than the Canadian B-standard of 2:01.30 and two that have run faster than the A-standard of 1:59.90. The Canadian standards match the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) standards.

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Jun 17, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Plethora of Canadian Olympic qualifiers at: NTL Donovan Bailey Classic (Edmonton, AB) -- Results -- American Milers Series (Indianapolis, IN) -- Results Cambridge Classic Mile (Cambridge, ON) -- Results -- London Distance Series (London, ON) -- Results On the Boards: Olympic qualifying procedure and CIS Route for Developing Talent Gleadle sets Canadian record in Javelin Canadian track athletes reach out with Twitter on bibs

 

Christophe Lemaitre - Interview Chris Kelsall Jun 15, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Twenty-two-year-old Christophe Lemaitre, is a French sprinter who specializes in both the 100m and 200m distances. He is a national record holder at both, having run 9.92 and 19.80, respectively. The former carries with it a slightly (at the moment) under-heralded mystique, as he is the very first white person to run under 10 seconds for the 100m distance. Perhaps with time, like Roger Bannister's first sub-four-minute mile, the importance of this benchmark will grow. He said, "In my eyes, sprinting has never been a matter of skin colour. It is a superfluous matter."

Donovan Bailey Invitational - National Track League Chris Kelsall Jun 14, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Christopher Kelsall

The Donovan Bailey Invitational is meet number three of the six meets that make up the National Track League. This event will prove to be exciting as it is the final NTL meet before the various national Olympic Trials take place.

The American Trials will take place in Eugene, Oregon from June 21st through to July 1st. The Canadian Trials take place in Calgary, Alberta from June 27th to June 30th.

Flotrack is providing live coverage of all six National Track League meets.

Peter Corrigan - Interview Chris Kelsall Jun 11, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Twenty-three year-old Peter Corrigan from Calgary, Alberta will be racing this spring and summer to improve his 1500m times and perhaps as a stretch goal run the “B” standard qualifying time for the 2012 London Olympic Games. He has just over two weeks to make that happen as well as finish top-three at the Canadian Olympic Track and Field Trials. The trials are are taking place in his hometown of Calgary from June 27th to June 30th.

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Jun 11, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY Zelinka wins 100 hurdles, Smith breaks 2:00 in 800m at Harry Jerome Classic (Burnaby, BC) -- Results More NTL News: Edmonton NTL meet turning into star-studded affair, Bishop keeps Olympic dreams within reach Theisen wins heptathlon, Drouin goes 2.31 in HJ and Other Canadians at NCAA Championships (Des Moines, Iowa) -- Results OFSAA Championships (Brockville, ON) -- Results Guelph announces incoming recruiting class as prepare to open new facility

 

Dave Scott-Thomas - Olympic Bound Chris Kelsall Jun 09, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Dave Scott-Thomas is the head coach of the University of Guelph Gryphons cross-country and track and field teams, which are both ranked number one in Canada. He is also coach of several Olympians including Eric Gillis and Reid Coolsaet in the marathon, Hilary Stellingwerff and Taylor Milne, 1500m, providing they reach top three at the Canadian Track and Field Trials in Calgary June 27 to June 30th. He coaches several other competitive athletes in the Guelph area.

Classy Cameron Levins - NCAA Division 1, 10,000m Champion Chris Kelsall Jun 07, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Opinion

Cameron Levins of Black Creek, British Columbia (on Vancouver Island) is one of the classiest athletes in the NCAA. He also became the first student to win a national championship for his school, Southern Utah University. Levins trains at what is currently considered an unusually high volume of mileage. It works. His lower mileage competitors trailed him - all of them.  "To win at any level in any field and then be consistently humble about the successes and victories is what true humility and sportsmanship is about. This is what makes a great athlete's legacy endure throughout time", says his Coach Eric Houle.

Harry Jerome Track Classic - Matthew Centrowitz - Taylor Milne Chris Kelsall Jun 07, 2012

By Douglas Bruce Clement

Matthew Centrowitz is coming to the Harry Jerome Track Classic on his way to London. In 2011 he was the NCAA and USA champion in the 1500m and the bronze medal winner at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. He has run 3:34.46 over this distance but he needs to achieve the Olympic standard before the US Olympic Trials. He is not alone in this quest. Several athletes from the US and Canada are in the same situation and all are looking for that magic moment when the tempo of the metric mile is fast, very fast indeed.

Krista DuChene Chris Kelsall Jun 06, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Krista DuChene of Brantford, Ontario is one of Canada's top-performing marathon runners. She ran the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon on April 15th, in a personal best time of 2h32.06. This result is much faster than the International Association of Athletics Federation's Olympic qualifying standards of 2:43 as the "B" standard and 2:37 as the "A" standard. However, it does not meet Athletics Canada's requirement of 2:29:55 or better.

DuChene finished seconds behind teammate Lanni Marchant of London, Ontario who ran 2h:31.50. Both were significant personal best performances.

Martin Goulet Chris Kelsall Jun 04, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Martin Goulet, Chief High Performance Officer of Athletics Canada recently took the time to answer a few questions regarding Canadian Olympic standards. He comments specifically on the Lanni Marchant and Krista DuChene appeal in regards to them potentially running for Canada (or not). Goulet also talks about the excellent performances of the three male marathon runners who have qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games, Reid Coolsaet, Eric Gillis and Dylan Wykes.

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Jun 03, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY	AROUND THE WORLD
More Canadians hit Olympic qualifiers -- Bishop-- Brannen -- Stellingwerff Chaisson and Avery top Canadians at Ottawa Marathon BC High School Track Championships (Burnaby, BC) -- Results Ontario Regional High School Results -- Rankings OFSAA Championships in Brockville This Week	Prefontaine Classic (Eugene, OR): Rupp goes 12:58 in 5km, Xiang runs 12.87 110 hurdles -- Results NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa this week -- Canadians competing

 

Dylan Armstrong - Olympic Games Quest Chris Kelsall May 21, 2012

From: Douglas Bruce Clement

Dylan Armstrong came so close to the gold in Shanghai May 19th, in the second stop in the Samsung Diamond League series. He threw the shot put 20.93m just .05m behind Reese Hoffa’s winning toss.  This is a stark reminder of how difficult it will be to get on the podium in London. There are eight or more shot putters who on any given day can throw 21m or more.  It is going to be an outstanding battle not only in the seven series shot put competition that make up the Samsung Diamond League series, but at the sudden death, one shot Olympic final on August 3rd. Armstrong's remaining SDL meets are in Eugene, Oslo, Paris, London, Stockholm and Zurich. Armstrong is the defending overall champion in the 2011 SDL and the number one ranked shot putter in the world.

Eric Gillis wins Canadian half-marathon Tnfnorth.ca May 01, 2012

Olympic-bound Eric Gillis surged away from Matt Loiselle to win the men's Canadian national half-marathon championships. (via )

Haile Gebreselassie Chris Kelsall Apr 10, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Although there is speculation about Haile Gebrselassie's actual age – he maintains that he was born in 1973 - and on occasion people who know him personally, have let slip that he is older, like countryman Hirpasa Lemi, who said he and Gebr are the same age, born in 1967. That would make him 45. Regardless of the fact that his marathon performances have recently slipped from their world-dominating standard of just a few years ago, The Emperor, is not done with his running career just yet.

Mortuary Nights Chris Kelsall Apr 09, 2012

The following story was written entirely by Colin G. Livingstone. Livingstone is an illustrator who resides somewhere in the UK. He grew up in Kenya and New Zealand, just a few blocks away from the home of the great running coach Arthur Lydiard. Livingstone went on to run for Lydiard’s running club and later competed at national level in New Zealand

Canadians at the Sun Angel Classic Chris Kelsall Apr 09, 2012

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Christopher Moulton

University of Guelph

The road to the London Olympics began in earnest for Speed River Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. A group of seven athletes came down from a high altitude training camp in nearby Flagstaff for an early season test at the Arizona State Sun Angel Classic.

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Apr 08, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY	AROUND THE WORLD
Canadians light it up at Stanford -- Results Ottawa Dome Series -- Results Guelph hosts Michael Benham Memorial on May 3 -- Registration U of Toronto hosts relay meet May 4th -- Details to come	Review of Alberto Salazar bio is postive Review of Ron Clarke's The Unfogiving Minute

 

The story behind Guelph's track campaign Andrew Maloney Apr 02, 2012

How the track community raised $1 million in just a few weeks

 

Lydiard's Running Wizard - Launched Chris Kelsall Mar 29, 2012

 

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Last January, in an interview with Nobby Hashizume to announce an interactive online training program, I asked, “do you want to run or coach your very best”? At that time Nobby Hashizume and Lorraine Moller, co-founders of the Lydiard Foundation had just put the wraps (after working for hundreds of hours) on their training program dubbed “Master Run Coach”. It is the only program like it in the world. It is geared to provide athletes and coaches of all abilities training programs to fit any situation, to the tune of providing nearly 1500 different variations....

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Mar 25, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY	AROUND THE WORLD
Coolsaet and Duchene win Around the Bay in Hamilton Canadians kick off season at Arizona State (Tempe, AZ)- Results	Spearmon Jr. first to break 20 in 200m in March Willis crushes 5000m at New Zealand Champs

 

High mileage and low injury rate – preparing the modern runner for Lydiard Chris Kelsall Mar 25, 2012

 

Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

By Rene Borq

Injury rates in runners for the past 60 years make depressing reading for any runner and I doubt there are many coaches out there who have not been frustrated at having their athletes cut down prior to reaching peak form by this or the other type of tendinitis, strain, sprain, stress syndrome and so forth. Indeed, my Latin has improved immeasurably since I took up running and only more so after I began coaching. “Osteitis pubis”, “Achilles tendinosis”, “posterior tibial tendinitis” are just some of my personal favourites…

This Week in Athletics... Tnfnorth.ca Mar 18, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY	AROUND THE WORLD
Chris Kelsall interview with Dr. Trent Stellingwerff Levins wins NACAC XC, Canada second (Trinidad) -- Results Paul Gains interview with Dayna Pidhoresky	Kirui and Dado win NYC Half Marathon Steve Boyd article on Desportification of Running Kenyans dominate African XC Championships

 

Dr. Trent Stellingwerff - On Nutrition and Hydration Chris Kelsall Mar 16, 2012

 

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Dr. Trent Stellingwerff is a former track and field athlete who competed in the NCAA for Cornell University where he was selected as a co-captain. He also competed in the CIS for the University of Guelph, where he twice earned All-Canadian status.

Ryan Gregson Chris Kelsall Mar 12, 2012

 

Ryan Gregson of Wollongong, NSW is an Australian middle distance runner who currently holds the Australian and Oceania records for the men's 1500 metres.

February 16th, Inside Athletics of Australia ran an article from the Illawarra Mercury suggesting that Gregson was running out of time to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. A few days later on Friday, March 2nd, Gregson won the 1500m at the Melbourne Track Classic, besting 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, by over four seconds. It was a comeback of sorts, after a spate of injuries kept him down during the 2011 season.

TC10k - Times Colonist 10k from 2011 Chris Kelsall Mar 11, 2012

Check out the video!!

This Week in Athletics Tnfnorth.ca Mar 11, 2012

AROUND THE COUNTRY	AROUND THE WORLD
Western (men), Windsor (women) win CIS Indoors -- Full Coverage Lecours sets CIS meet record in 1000m ----------------------------------------- Alberta Provincial Indoors (Edmonton, AB) -- Results	Florida (men), Oregon women repeat at NCAA Championships Theisen wins pentathlon -- Buttinger third in pentathlon -- Rae anchors DMR to win -- Ricky West and Cam Levins in action --------------------------------------------- World Indoors (Istanbul, TUR) -- Results Holder and Leblanc advance -- Other Canadians in Action

 

Mo Trafeh - Pre-Gate River 15k Interview Chris Kelsall Mar 09, 2012

 

© Copyright - 2012 - Athletics Illustrated

Mo Trafeh is the defending two-time (consecutive) champion of the Gate River 15k. He is back for a third consecutive attempt on Saturday, March 10th. During the 2010 and 2011 races Trafeh, won in the identical time of 42:58. The  course record of 42:22 was set by Todd William in 1995. Williams won five times in six years. Trafeh, 26 has spent parts of the previous three years training in Flagstaff, Arizona as well as Morocco.

Olympic hopeful Dylan Wykes pulls out of marathon qualifier Tnfnorth.ca Mar 08, 2012

Pictures from the 67th Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon this past weekend are telling of the elements under which Canadian runner Dylan Wykes took his shots. It was chilly. It was a rainy. A little like home. But Vancouver-based Wykes was not home. (via blogs.theprovince.com)

Hilary Stellingwerff - Post Race Interview - Bazan Bay 5k Chris Kelsall Mar 08, 2012

Check out this video!!