By: Jonathan Yue
It finally feels like we are back on track!
With tracks open and facilities available for the public and athletes, track meets have been able to operate safely and smoothly while following the proper distancing protocols. The weekly wrap-up returns, looking back at the last week of top performances.
Diamond League Fridays returned, marking the resumption of the international track circuit. Canadians Marco Arop and Matt Hughes made the trip over the pond to compete under the bright lights of Monaco.
In the men’s 800-metres, the reigning Pan American champion Arop powered off the start line for the two-lap race, finishing with a new personal-best time of 1:44.14 for third place overall and bettering his previous best of 1:44.25.
Matt Hughes was up next in the final event of the competition, the men’s 3000m steeplechase. In a race with many swings, Hughes put on a strong performance, finishing fifth with a time of 8:16.25.
Back in the Canadian capital, the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club hosted their third and fourth Twiight meets of the summer, featuring some of the top Canadian team members on the start lists.
2019 Canadian champion Philip Osei led the way in the men’s 400-metres, opening his 2020 outdoor season with a winning time of 47.56. He was followed closely by Canadian teammate, Daniel Harper with a time of 47.74.
Brittany Crew had a busy week, not only winning in the shot put competition in Ottawa but doing it again three days later in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Winning with her throw of 17.50-metres in Ottawa, Crew started feeling the competitive fire, using her first attempt to throw 18.57 in Sherbrooke.
At the Sherbrooke Invitational, @BrittCrew got off to a 🔥 start with a throw of 18.57m 💪
— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) August 16, 2020
She added a personal-best 54.01m in the hammer throw 👏 pic.twitter.com/OGl3hxKJa3
Closing out the meet in Ottawa, Melissa Bishop shook off the cobwebs in the women’s 400-metres, clocking 56.77 for win on Wednesday night.
At the Jacques-Martin Twilight meet, the trio of Lindsey Butterworth, Lucia Stafford, and Maite Bouchard toed the line for the women’s 800-metres and didn’t disappoint. Butterworth led the way with a time of 2:01.09, followed by Bouchard (2:01.92) and Stafford (2:02.07) in an exciting race to the finish.
Noelle Montcalm got her season started in Ottawa as well, winning the women’s 400-metre hurdles, stopping the clock at 56.85.
South of the border, Rory Linkletter placed second at the St. George 5000m Showdown in Utah, crossing the finish line with a time of 13:50.72.
At the Nashville Music City Distance festival, a Canadian duo took the top 2 spots in the men’s 5000-metres. Their first race of the outdoor season, Farah Abdulkarim ran a personal best and meet record time of 13:37.57, while Ben Flanagan followed with a time of 13:38.98.
After months of training at home and on their own, we have even seen impressive performances from Canadian athletes right out of the gates even earlier in the summer.
A performance we will not forget any time soon, Mohammed Ahmed shatter the 5000-metre Canadian record in July, running 12:47.20 to win at the Portland Intrasquad meet, while also putting him in the top-10 on the world’s all-time 5000-metre list.
In Toronto, Lucia Stafford showed off her fitness after the low layoff, adding to her U23 Canadian record collection by claiming the women’s U23 1000m record. Crossing the finish line with a time of 2:38.73, Stafford’s performance surpassed Glenda Reiser’s 1973 time of 2:41.4.
Next up, Marco Arop will continue his European tour in Poland this week, while Sage Watson is on deck to get her summer hurdles season underway in Sweden at the Stockholm Diamond League competition.
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