Rachel Seaman makes her return to Canada’s National Team
OTTAWA – Athletics Canada announced today the five athletes who have been selected to represent Canada at the 2019 Pan American Race Walking Cup. The two-day event will take place in Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico – a city located on the Pacific Coast approximately 500 kilometres southwest of Mexico City – on April 20-21.
The team features three athletes who competed in the 2017 edition of the event, Mathieu Bilodeau (4th, 50km RW), Evan Dunfee (8th, 20km RW) and Alger Liang (11th, U20 10km RW). The event also marks the return of Canadian 20-kilometre race walk record holder Rachel Seaman and Kenny Ho who’s a newcomer to the senior ranks.
“I am thrilled to be back competing for Canada again. It’s been the longest and hardest three and a half years of my life and to finally feel like things are coming back together feels great,” said Seaman. “It really is a blessing to wear Canada on your chest, something I had taken for granted after making so many teams in the past. From here on out, I’ll be savouring it every time I get the opportunity. I really hope that my resurgence and my presence will encourage other girls to try racewalking. I know that racing at the Pan American Race Walking Cup will be a great first step to reaching my goals of making the World Championships team and competing in another Olympic Games.”
“I kicked-off my 2019 season in Australia and opened with my best time in the 20-kilometre race walk since 2017,” said Dunfee. “I plan to compete in Wajima, Japan, one week earlier in the 50-kilometre race walk as many of the athletes competing in that event will be vying for the podium in Tokyo. For Mexico, I chose the 20-kilometre event as I wanted to be a part of the team competition as I’d like to bring home another team medal for Canada. It will be a lot of fun to have this experience with a younger group. I hope to lead by example and to be someone they can go to for advice in the days leading up to the race.”
Representing Canada at the 2019 Pan American Race Walking Cup will be:
Athlete |
Hometown |
Coach |
Club |
Event |
Mathieu Bilodeau |
Canmore, Alta. |
David Gagnon |
Running Room Athletic Club Alberta |
Men’s 50km |
Evan Dunfee |
Richmond, B.C. |
Gerry Dragomir |
Racewalk West |
Men’s 20km |
Kenny Ho |
Vancouver, B.C. |
Gerry Dragomir |
Racewalk West |
Men’s 20km |
Alger Liang |
Vancouver, B.C. |
Gerry Dragomir |
Racewalk West |
Men’s 20km |
Rachel Seaman |
Peterborough, Ont. |
Tim Seaman |
Peterborough Legion Track Club |
Women’s 20km |
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Staff |
Hometown |
Role |
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Gerry Dragomir |
Vancouver, B.C. |
Head coach |
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Bev Larssen |
Vancouver, B.C. |
Team manager |
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Marilou Lamy |
North Vancouver, B.C. |
Physiotherapist |
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For more information on the 2019 Pan American Race Walking Cup, visit www.athleticsnacac.org.
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