After five medals on the first day of competition, it didn’t take long for Canada to earn its first gold medal of the Championships, thanks to Abdullahi Hassan.
Hassam ran to a convincing victory in the men’s U18 800-metre final, setting a new personal best of 1:52.48 in the process, and the playing of ‘O Canada’ as he stood atop the podium. Reflecting on his race, he believes he executed his race perfectly for Canada.
“Coming around the last curve, I was strong enough to win and felt good because I represented my country very well,” said Hassan. “It was the first time being on the podium with the national anthem playing so I felt really proud to represent Canada, and with the flag over my back, it was a very special moment.”
With the first medal of the day under their belts, it opened the gates to more throughout the day. Team captain Erinn Stenman-Fahey claimed the women’s U23 800 metre bronze medal in a time of 2:11.57.
Being given the responsibility of team captain, Stenman-Fahey says it was added motivation for her going into her competition.
“When I was nominated as captain, it really inspired me to show my leadership skills and be a good teammate,” Stenman-Fahey said. “I want to lead by example so when I stepped on that starting line with that title, I wanted to show the athletes when we compete for Canada, we compete hard.”
In the U18 800-metre final, the podium saw two Canadians. Emma Pegg and Cassandra Williamson ran to a two-three finish, crossing the finish line with times of 2:10.49 and 2:11.15, respectively.
Canadian duos continued to take over the podium, as Katelyn Stewart-Barnett and Cecilia Howes closed out the U18 2000-metre steeplechase with times of 7:15.31 and 7:34.40, respectively, for a one-two podium finish.
In the field, Andreas Troschke continued what was started on the track, claiming the bronze medal in the U23 men’s hammer throw final, his furthest throw measured at 60.61 metres.
View this post on InstagramStriking Gold 🥇Day 2 as Canada’s medal count at the NACAC U18/U23 Championships reaches 20! 🥇🥈🥉
In the afternoon session, Mahalia Mitchell kept the gold rush coming in the women’s U18 triple jump, soaring to a personal best and Canadian record of 13.13 metres.
In the 100-metre hurdles, both U18 and U23 athletes took home bronze medals. In the U18 final, Issabella (Izzy) Goudros earned the bronze by running a time of 13.75 seconds, while Mariam Abdul-Rashid ran to a bronze medal of her own in the U23 race.
Krystalann Bechard built off her Day 1 qualifying 400-metre race in the U18 final, running a time of 54.13 for a silver medal.
Using his experience from last summer’s NACAC Championships in Toronto, Austin Cole set a new personal best time of 45.90 seconds to win the bronze medal in the U23 400-metre final. Hitting the 45-second mark for the first time, Cole looks to take this feeling into nationals.
“I’ve been trying to 45 all season and to get over that barrier it’s going to tie into nationals very well. All I can say is that the Canadian championship race is going to be a very tight race ” said Cole. “Being able to PB and earn my first individual international medal, it’s a pretty proud moment.”
Closing out a busy day for Canada, the women’s U18 and U23 teams put the cherry on top with big performances. Earning two more silver medals in the 4x100-metre relay, while setting new U18 and U23 Canadian records in the process, to close-out the day with a total of 20 medals for the Canadian squad. The U18 team of Brianna Gayle, Hannah Heise, Isabella Goudros, and Jillian Catton crossed the finish line with a time of 46.09 while the U23 team of Shyvonne Roxborough, Ashlan Best, Natassha McDonald, and Audrey Leduc clocked in at 44.28 seconds.
Going into the final day of competition, Canada sits in fourth place in the medal count with a total of 20 medals.
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