The Warmup to Worlds meet featured some of the most heated battles on Canadian soil this year.
Several international-calibre athletes from Canada and beyond competed at the University of Alberta’s Foote Field, eliciting cheers from packed stands as they fine-tuned their craft in preparation for the World Athletics Championship in two weeks.
Here are the top three moments of the meet.
1- Hometown Hero Arop runs #3 800m time in the world this year
Marco Arop spent much more time signing autographs than he did running 800 metres. The 24-year-old had long caught his breath back long before he finished signing his name on t-shirts, hats and pieces of paper.
He had already won the fans over before the race, receiving a standing ovation as he stood in his lane in preparation for takeoff. The cheers grew louder as he chased the pacer through the first lap and confidently darted to the lead as soon as the rabbits stepped off the track. Fans stayed on their feet as he ran through the home stretch, by then having gapped Canadian 1,500m and 5,000m champions Robert Heppenstall and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who were second and third in the race.
Arop, a Sudanese refugee who made Edmonton his home 20 years ago, finished with a time of 1:43.61, his second-fastest 800m run of his life, and the third best mark in the world this year. His next competition will be the World Athletics Championship in Eugene.
2 - Amanda Rummery sets PB, National Record, World Leading Mark in T46 400m
Arop was not the only local athlete to bring the crowd to their feet. Earlier in the day, Amanda Rummery set a new PB of 59.13 seconds over 400 metres, which now stands as the Canadian T46 women’s record and the top women’s T46 time in the world this year. It was also a 0.76 second PB for the 24-year-old athlete: all this despite only learning she would be racing moments before start time.
Rummery was an alternate on the start list, but a late scratch by an American athlete freed lane eight and gave her a spot. She found out she would be racing just in time for her to break into a warmup.
“Sometimes when you least expect it, that’s when things fall into place,” she said after the race.
Rummery, who became Canadian champion last week, said she planned to keep racing through July because her races hadn’t yet reflected the times she was hitting in training. She still plans to compete again before the end of the month, to now aim at the 59-second barrier.
3 - Sarah Mitton throws 19.99m, but is hungry for more
In May of this year, Sarah Mitton set a new outdoor record in the shotput of 19.58 metres. She recalls being thrilled with the new mark.
Since then, the goalposts have changed in a huge way. The North York resident from Brooklyn, Nova Scotia has improved by the month, and just last week obliterated that original record and tossed for 20.33 metres, becoming the Canadian champion in the process.
“Had you told me I’d throw 19.99 metres just months ago, I’d be ecstatic and now it’s a whole new perspective,” she said.
It’s not lost on Mitton that 19.99 metres is an objectively great toss – only three women have thrown farther this year. In Edmonton, she also threw in that range twice: her first throw in the competition landed 19.91 metres away from the shotput circle.
Mitton, like Arop, will compete next at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene later this month.
Full Results from the Warmup to Worlds Meet can be found here.
