| Wednesday, July 30 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 10- Gryphon Track Camps |
We took the opportunity this week to drop by University of Guelph Track and Field Camp, to give you a glimpse into the camps and hopefully some of Canada's future Track and Field Stars.
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| Wednesday, July 30 2008 - Milne Appears At Gryphon Track Camp |
Canadian Olympian Taylor Milne made a special surprise appearance yesterday at University of Guelph Track and Field Camp. Milne, the Canadian Olympic Trials Champion over 1500 meters, took questions from campers ranging from how he got started in running, to who his running idol is and what his plans are after running. After the question and answer session, Milne took the opportunity to run a lap with the campers and then sign autographs. Milne will be leaving for Singapore on Saturday for a week long training camp before heading to Beijing where he will be running his first round race August 15th.
Guelph Mercury Article On Milne's Appearance
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| Sunday, July 27 2008 - Carson and Jackson Impress At Canadian Juniors |
Lindsay Carson enjoyed a very strong showing at this weekend's Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships in Abbotsford, BC. Carson captured the silver medal in both the women’s 1500 meters and 3000 meters. Battling the strongest and deepest fields in recent memory, Carson showed incredible tenacity as she completed the double in a mere six hours, recording a life time best in the 3000 meters.
Speed River's Rob Jackson, was fifth in both the men’s 1500 meters and men’s 5000 meters. Jackson was the only athlete to attempt this grueling double and showed impressive resolve in the 5000 moving through the field as the race progressed.
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| Saturday, July 26 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour- Day 11 |
The New Balance Euro Tour comes to a close with our final video, where we discuss the experience with some of the Speed River athletes. Rollin' With The River will resume Wednesday with a new video coming every Wednesday. We hope that you have enjoyed our video series Rollin' With The River- New Balance Euro Tour.
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| Saturday, July 26 2008 - Youngsters Lead Speed River in Oordegem |
The New Balance Euro Tour came to an exciting close Saturday night with the tour’s two youngest members showing, why they are names to watch in the coming years. Competing Memorial Léon Buyle track meet in Oordegem, Belgium, the club was lead by Tim Konoval’s personal best performance in the men’s 1500 meters. Konoval recorded a time of 3:42.90, which is roughly the equivalent of a four minute mile. At only 24, Konoval has shown great strides this year, recording personal bests at every distance between 800 and 5000 meters. Konoval’s teammate, the precocious 20 year old Kyle Boorsma also recorded a substantial personal best in the 3000 meter race. Boorsma who entered the year with a personal best of 8:29 recorded a time of 7:59.72, to finish just behind Olympic bound teammate Eric Gillis . This performance brings to a close a staggering year for Boorsma, who also lowered his personal best in the 1500 meters by an incredible 8 seconds and placed fifth in the extremely competitive Olympic Trials. Boorsma and Konoval are two of the bright young lights in the men’s 1500 meters, which is quickly becoming one of Canada’s deepest and strongest events.
Teammate Eric Gillis, as mentioned, finished just ahead of Boorsma in his final race before next month’s Olympic Games in Beijing. Gillis has been putting all his energy towards aiming to peak on August 17th, the date of the 10000 meter final, and today’s effort was another solid indicator that he is ready to be at his best on the sport’s biggest stage.
Rounding out a busy day, Cleve Thorson recorded a time 3:49.09, to narrowly missed his personal best which he set earlier this week in Braaschaat, Belgium.
Full Results |
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| Friday, July 25 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 10 |
A few Speed River members made the trip down to Paris to take in the sights and enjoy some crepes, some highlights of the trip are available here.
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| Thursday, July 24 2008 - Personal Bests Abound In Brasschaat |
Taylor Milne ran his final tune up race before next month’s Beijing Olympic Games tonight in Brasschaat, Belgium. Milne who elected to move up in distance testing him over the 3000 meters (he will be running the 1500 in Beijing) record a personal best and narrowly missed Reid Coolsaet’s club record with a 7:54 clocking. Milne will now return home for a few days before heading to Singapore and the Canadian training camp at the start of August.
Milne highlighted a meet that included a number of personal best for Speed River athletes. Teammate Robin Watson, the Canadian Steeplechase Champion, continued his string of strong shorter distance races with another 1500 meter personal best crossing the line in 3:47. Right on his heels was teammate Cleve Thorson who made it two for two on the New Balance Euro Tour, recording his second personal best of the trip running a 3:48. In the men’s 800 Tim Konoval continued the string of personal best as he lowered his personal best by nearly two seconds with a time of 1:50.8.
In the invitational section of the men's 1500 meters, Kyle Boorsma set off well under 3:40 pace, unfortunately, the pace proved a little to quick for him as he was forced to withdraw when there was a large collision in front of him as he entered the final lap.
Wrapping a busy day for the group was Hilary Stellingwerff, who competed in her final race of the season narrowly missing a life time best with 2:03 clock. Stellingwerff, the Canadian Champion over 1500 meters, was granted an extension to attempt to meet the Olympic standard but the deadline passed yesterday with Stellingwerff having been unable to meet the standard. She will now take a well deserved break.
Saturday in Oordegem, Speed River will conclude their tour with Eric Gillis running the 3000 meters in his final race before the Beijing Games.
Full results
Race Videos
Tim Konoval's 800 Meter Race
Hilary Stellingwerff's 800 Meter Race
Rob Watson and Cleve Thorson's 1500 Meter Race
Taylor Milne's 3000 Meter Race |
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| Thursday, July 24 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 9 |
Today was the second meet of the New Balance Euro Tour in Brasschaat, Belgium. Here are some highlights of our trip.
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| Wednesday, July 23 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 8 |
We had some minor technical difficulties and thus the production of the Day 8 video will be delayed. However, we are heading to Brasschaat today and will have some highlights from this trip. Should be an interesting meet, the fields look good.
New Balance Euro Tour Athletes Competing
Mens 800 Section B
Tim Konoval
Womens 800 Section A
Hilary Stellingwerff
Mens 1500 Section B
Cleve Thorson
Rob Watson
Mens 1500 Section A
Kyle Boorsma
Mens 3000 Section A
Taylor Milne
Results Will Be Here |
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| Tuesday, July 22 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 7 |
After Heusden last night, today was a pretty low key day for the group and so we took the opportunity to give you a feel for how we pass the time during the day. Europe is a great experience but ultimately we are here to accomplish a goal, which is to run fast. We were also joined today by Hilary Stellingwerff who will be staying with us for the next couple of days and running an 800 in Brasschaat.
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| Monday, July 21 2008 - Gillis Leads Speed River At Heusden |
Eric Gillis led an impressive day for the Speed River Track and Field Club in Heusden, Belgium at the KBC Nacht Meeting. Gillis narrowly missed the win in his section of the 5000 meters, posting a seasonal best time of 13:36.88, the fastest time by a Canadian this year. Gillis who led the race from the 2.4 kilometer mark was passed in the homestretch by American Ben Bruce. The race was a significant improvement for Gillis on his effort at the Canadian Olympic Trials where he finished second in 13:55.65. Gillis will be running the 10000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and was using the 5000 meters as prep for the longer distance.
Fellow Beijing bound Speed River athlete Taylor Milne was third in his section of the 1500 meters. Milne crossed the line in 3:39.43, after the race Milne commented that he felt “flat” after having traveling over from Guelph earlier in the week. Teammate Kyle Boorsma continued his tremendous season with a 3:42.12 clocking in the same section as Milne. For Boorsma, this time was the second fastest of his life and adds to his quickly growing resume.
Canadian Steeplechase Champion Rob Watson focused on speed work as he preps for a steeple later this week in Sweden. Watson set a 1500 meter lifetime best with a 3:50.33, while teammate Tim Konoval did much of the leading in the same section as Watson before fading to fifth in a 3:46.71 clocking.
Rounding out a busy night at the track was Cleve Thorson, who competed in one of the final races of the evening, the National section of the men’s 5000 meters. Thorson, shattered his lifetime best by over 15 seconds as he ran 14:13.80 which ranks him seventh in Canada this year, and gives Speed River three athletes in the top seven of the 5000 meter rankings, joining Gillis (first) and Milne (fifth).
The Speed River group is currently on the New Balance Euro Tour. Where they are competing in a number of meets in Belgium as part of the Flanders Cup series. Next up will be a meet Wednesday evening in Brasschaat, Belgium.
Full Results
Videos of The Races
Konoval and Watson's Race
Milne and Boorsma's Race
Gillis' Race
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| Monday, July 21 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 6 |
Last night was the KBC Night of Athletics Meeting in Heusden, Belgium. Here our some video highlights.
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| Sunday, July 20 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 5 |
The day before Heusden and the group is at the dorms resting up for the big race, so we take a little road trip to Maastricht to meet up with Trent and Hilary Stellingwerff.
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| Sunday, July 20 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour To Race In Heusden Tonight |
The New Balance Euro Tour will be traveling to Heusden, Belgium for the KBC Nacht meeting this evening. This meet is annual one of the deepest and strongest middle distance track and field meets of the year.
Tim Konoval and Rob Watson will be running in the 1500 meters C Section at 5:30 PM local time (11:30 AM eastern).
Taylor Milne and Kyle Boorsma will be running in the 1500 meters B Section at 7:00 PM local time (1:00 PM eastern).
Eric Gillis will be running the the 5000 meters, at the time of this posting he is in the C section, although he is optimistic that he may be allowed entry in the B section. If allowed in the B section he will run at 10:00 PM local (4:00 PM Eastern), if he is relegated to the C he will run at 10:20 PM local (4:20 PM Eastern).
Wrapping up a busy evening will be Cleve Thorson in the 5000 meters D section, which will be run at 10:40 PM local (4:40 PM Eastern).
Live Results Should Be Available Here. |
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| Saturday, July 19 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 4 |
Last night we headed downtown in search of the personal pizzas and gelato. There was a downtown concert series on and it was incredible to see the number of people out in the community.
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| Saturday, July 19 2008 - Ellis Captures Bronze at North and Central American Under 23 Championships |
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Carolyn Ellis made her first appearance on the Canadian National team, a memorable one as she captured the bronze medal at the North and Central American Under 23 Championships, Saturday evening, in Toluca, Mexico. Battling the extremely high altitude of Toluca, over 8000 feet, Ellis used a conservative race plan to capture the medal. Distance athletes are the most adversely affect by the high altitude conditions at it impedes on their ability to uptake oxygen. Not surprisingly given these conditions, Ellis time of 11:49.78 was nearly a minute and half off of her personal best. Through two days of the three day competition Canada has won nine medals including four golds. |
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| Friday, July 18 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 3 |
Generally, when in Europe most athletes do very little hard training as they are mostly at their seasonal peaks and in taper mode. One of the challenges for a coach is to allow the athletes to adjust to the travel and taper for the upcoming meets while avoiding becoming stale. Thus, it is very common for athletes to do light maintenance type workouts. Here is one example of such a workout.
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| Friday, July 18 2008 - Stellingwerff Comes Up Short In Paris |
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Hilary Stellingwerff made another attempt at the Olympic standard Friday night at the Gaz de France Meeting In Paris. Despite near ideal conditions, in a race that was won by her occasional training partner Maryam Jamal of Bahrain in 3:59.99. Stellingwerff came up while short crossing the line in a disappointing 4:14.97. Fellow Canadian Malindi Elmore narrowly missed Olympic A standard with her 4:07.07 clocking. With only four days remaining in the qualifying period, Stellingwerff may mount one final challenge at the standard Sunday evening in Heusden, Belgium. |
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| Thursday, July 17 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 2 |
In our second day in Europe, we take a tour of Katholieke University Leuven.
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| Thursday, July 17 2008 - Stellingwerff To Chase Standard In Paris |
Hilary Stellingwerff will make another attempt at trying to secure her Olympic qualifying time, Friday evening in Paris. Stellingwerff, who captured the Canadian Championships in the 1500 meters earlier this month, will face a loaded field at the Golden League Gaz De France Meet. The field includes four women with personal bests under four minutes. Stellingwerff will need a time of 4:05.70 to secure her Olympic berth.
Meet Website |
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| Wednesday, July 16 2008 - Gillis Named To Canadian Olympic Team |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15 2008
OTTAWA – Athletics Canada announced today that 10 000 metre runner Eric Gillis from Antigonish, NS has been added to the Olympic Games nomination list.
Gillis who currently resides and trains in Guelph, ON was not on the original list when the team was nominated July 7 but the National Team Committee re-considered their decision as new elements were presented during the appeal process.
Martin Goulet, Athletics Canada’s Chief High Performance Officer endorses the decision, “The National Team Committee has a high level of confidence in Eric’s program and coaching, this, combined with the fact that the appeal brought to light some grey zones in Athletics Canada’s Olympic Selection Criteria led us to rule in favour of the athlete”.
The number of track and field athletes nominated to the Olympic team now stands at 31.
Athletics Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of track and field, cross-country running, road running and road racing.
For more information:
Mathieu Gentès
Marketing and Communications Director
Athletics Canada
mgentes@athletics.ca
613-260-5580 ext. 3303
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| Wednesday, July 16 2008 - New Balance Euro Tour Day 1 |
We arrived in Leuven today to begin our New Balance Euro Tour, our first meet will be Heusden on Sunday.
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| Wednesday, July 16 2008 - Carolyn Ellis Named to NACAC Team |
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Carolyn Ellis was named to the Canadian team for the North American Central American and The Caribbean (NACAC) Under 23 Championships in Toluca, Mexico. For Ellis, who finished fifth at the recent Canadian Olympic Trials, this will mark her debut on the Canadian National Team. She will be joined on the team by Speed River physiotherapist Brenda Scott-Thomas who will also be making her national team debut as team physiotherapist. The NACAC competition will be conducted July 18th-20th. |
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| Tuesday, July 15 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 9- Rollin' With Robbie J |
In episode 9, Rob Jackson completes his hardest workout of the season as he preps for Junior Nationals at the end of the month in Abbotsford. Stay tuned to www.guelphrunning.ca for Rollin' With The River- New Balance Euro Tour. We have just arrived in Leuven, so expect episode 1 of the Euro Tour in the coming days.
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| Monday, July 14 2008 - Stellingwerff Fourth in Gent |
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Hilary Stellingwerff came up short in her first attempt at Olympic Standard since being granted an extension by Athletics Canada. Competing in the 1500 meters at the International Athletics Meeting in Gent, Belgium, the field was rabbited through 800 meters right on Olympic A standard pace coming through in 2:11. At this point, Stellingwerff, the Canadian 1500 meter Champion, took the lead and shared the duties with Canadian 1500 meter runner up Malindi Elmore. Unfortunately, the windy conditions took their toll on Stellingwerff and Elmore as they were passed by American Sara Hall and Mariana Muncan in the last 200 meters. Elmore finished third in 4:11.41, with Stellingwerff fourth in 4:11.52, outside of the Olympic "A" standard of 4:07 and "B" standard of 4:08. Stellingwerff will next be in action Friday at the Gaz de France meet in Paris. |
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| Sunday, July 13 2008 - Stellingwerff To Chase Olympic Standard Tonight |
Canadian 1500 Meter Champion Hilary Stellingwerff will be racing tonight in Gent, Belgium at the Flanders Cup Gent. Stellingwerff who was granted an extension of the Olympic qualifying deadline due to anemia, will be looking to build on her four second seasonal best at the Canadian Championships last weekend.
Meet Information available here. |
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| Saturday, July 12 2008 - Speed River New Balance Euro Tour |
A group of six Speed River athletes will be heading to Leuven, Belgium for the next two weeks for a series of three races. The group will be flying out Monday evening and arriving Tuesday afternoon in Amsterdam, where they will board a train and head to Leuven. They will then spend five days adjusting to the time change before competing in three meets in seven days. First up will be the highly competitive KBC Nacht meet in Heusden, Beligium, Sunday July 20th. The following Wednesday, the group will head to Brasschaat for the Internationale Atletiek and will wrap up a busy week with the Memorial Léon Buyle in Oodergem, Belgium.
Stay tuned to Guelphrunning as we will have write ups following each competition and results in our results section. Also, Rollin’ With The River will be providing extensive extension coverage of the trip.
Athletes
Kyle Boorsma
Eric Gillis
Tim Konoval
Taylor Milne
Cleve Thorson
Rob Watson
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| Friday, July 11 2008 - Speed River Heads East |
A small but strong contingent of Speed River Track and Field Club athletes headed east this weekend to take part in the always competitive Aileen Meagher High Performance Meet in Halifax. Headlining the group was Eric Gillis who has been involved in a highly publicized appeal of the Canadian Olympic team this week. Gillis managed to put the stress and pressure of the appeal aside and competed in his home province in the men’s 1500 meters, finishing third in a lifetime best 3:44.86 clocking. Right on Gillis’ heals was teammate Scott Arnald who also recorded a lifetime best with a 3:45.65 clocking, good for fourth in the evening’s final event. The race was won by 2007 Canadian 1500 Meter Champions Ryan McKenzie with US Olympian Grant Robison finishing second.
Joining Gillis and Arnald on the trip were Maxime Paquette and Lee McCarron both of whom competed in the men’s 3000 meters. Paquette won the race in a huge breakthrough performance with a 16 second lifetime best, breaking the tape in 8:30.48. McCarron also recorded a lifetime best with a time 8:36.37, to place fourth overall.
Rounding out a busy trip was Dustin Gamble, who competed in the 800 meters. Gamble who has enjoyed great consistency this season recorded a personal best time of 1:50.75, his first time under 1:51. |
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| Wednesday, July 9 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 8- Olympic Trials |
Video Highlights Of This Weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials In Windsor.
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| Tuesday, July 8 2008 - Taylor Milne Named To Olympic Games Team, Stellingwerff Given Extension, Gillis Appeals |
It was merely a rubber stamp but Taylor Milne has been officially named to represent Canada at the Beijing Olympic Games in August. After breaking Olympic A standard at the Harry Jerome meet in late June, Milne stamped his ticket with a victory at the Canadian Olympic Trials.
Teammate Hillary Stellingwerff was granted a two week extension of the deadline to meet standard. Stellingwerff who has battled anemia for the past several months, recorded a four second seasonal best in her victory at the Canadian Olympic Trials.
Canadian 10000 Meter Champion Eric Gillis was shockingly omitted from the team, he has elected to appeal and there have been two recent articles on his appeal. One in the Guelph Mercury and the other on the CBC Olympics Website. |
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| Sunday, July 6 2008 - A Trio of Gold Medals Highlight Olympic Trials For Speed River |
A trio of gold medals, including a a gusty title defense and a breakthrough victory highlighted a thrilling and busy weekend for the Speed River Track and Field Club at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Windsor, Ontario. Taylor Milne and Hilary Stellingwerff swept the 1500 meter titles for the team, while Rob Watson ran away with the 3000 meter steeplechase gold as the club captured a record four medals.
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Milne’s victory in the men’s 1500 sealed his ticket to the Beijing Olympic games as he will be formally named to the team tomorrow. Entering the race as the fastest qualifier after an outstanding performance in friday’s heats. Milne bided his time behind Nate Brannen and Kurt Benninger as they pushed the pace in hopes of achieving Olympic standard. With 300 meters to go Milne, who achieved standard last month in Vancouver, pushed into the lead only to have Brannen come back on him at the 200 meter mark. Entering the homestretch Milne move back into the lead and pulled away from Brannen to capture his first Canadian Championship, crossing the line with an emphatic fist pump. Milne’s time of 3:38.03 broke John Craig’s 29 year old Championship record.
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Brannen who fell short of the Olympic standard, held on for the silver with Canadian Recorder Holder Kevin Sullivan finishing third. Sullivan will be joining Milne in Beijing as he had also achieved the Olympic standard prior to Saturday’s race. Centennial grad Kyle Boorsma had an incredible race nearly catching Benninger as he placed an outstanding fifth. The clocking of 3:40.96 for the 20 year old Boorsma was a lifetime best of nearly two seconds and was an announcement to the country of his arrival on the national stage. Speed River’s Tim Konoval also recorded a personal best as he placed seventh in one the deepest championship races in Canadian history. Konoval recorded a time 3:43.39.
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In the women’s 1500 meters Hilary Stellingwerff and 2004 Olympians Carmen Douma-Hussar and Malindi Elmore developed a plan to share leading chores with an aim of a achieving Olympic A+ standard of 4:05.70. Douma Hussar led the first 400 meters right on schedule in 64 seconds, as Elmore took over the pace it slowed slightly and the 800 was reached in 2:13, a full two seconds behind the target pace. At this point Stellingwerff took the lead and pushed to get the pace back on track, passing the 1200 meter mark in 3:18, about three seconds off the target. Stellingwerff continued to up the pace as only Elmore was able to stay close. Entering the home stretch Stellingwerff continued to pour it on as she pulled away from Elmore and raced against the clock. Entering the last 50 meters, Stellingwerff began to tie up slightly under the strain of leading. She broke the tape in a time of 4:08.56, narrowly missing the Olympic B standard of 4:08.00. The time was a four second seasonal best for Stellingwerff, who has battled anemia for most of the season.
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Having not met Olympic standard she has submitted a formal appeal to Athletics Canada to request an extension of the qualifying period on the basis of her medical condition. The appeal is currently being reviewed and she expects to hear in the coming days. Like the men’s 1500, the fast pace of the leaders was a boon for Speed River youngster Lindsay Carson, who recorded a life time best 4:20.81. For the 19 year old Carson, her seventh place finish was the best of her career and positioned her well for the Canadian Junior (Under 20) Championships later this month in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
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Completing the hat trick of Speed River national titles was Robin Watson’s dominate win in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase. Watson took the lead from the gun and had built a five meter lead at the end of the first lap. As the laps continued to pass Watson’s lead continued to grow as he ran away from the field. An anticipated challenge from Alex Genest, Canada’s top ranked steeplechaser this year never materialized as Watson build up an 80 meter lead on the field, before breaking the tape in 8:44.67 Genest captured the silver in 8:54.23, with Eric Kauika capturing the bronze in 8:55.17. For the 25 year old Watson, who was making his debut at the Canadian Championships, the race marked a breakthrough, and there is the makings of a great future rivalry between him and the 22 year old Genest. Teammate Maxime Paquette also had breakthrough race as he recorded a life time best 9:16.30 clocking good for a ninth overall finish.
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In the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase, Carolyn Ellis placed an impressive fifth. Ellis who was born in East York, but has spent the majority of her life in California, discovered the club by reading an article on in it the University of Guelph alumni magazine as her parents are both Guelph alumni. The fifth place finish for the 21 year old Ellis qualified her for the North and Central American Under 23 Championships in Toluca, Mexico later this month.
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Completing a busy weekend for the club was Owen Willems fourth place finish in the men’s discus. Willems had a huge personal best in the third round with a throw of 53.68. Entering the sixth and final round he was in the bronze medal position and seemed poised to make the podium; however, on his final throw Greg Pilling, who was in fourth, passed Willems with a throw 53.99. Willems was up next and tried his best to recapture the bronzed but unfortunately faulted and finished fourth, but will have a two meter life best a consolation.
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The Canadian Olympic Team will be announced tomorrow morning in Windsor at the RBC Breakfast Of Champions. It will be a stressful night for Speed River’s Eric Gillis who was second in friday’s 5000 meters, as he will receive word if he has been selected in his speciality the 10000 meters. Gillis captured the 10,000 meter title earlier in June in Toronto and has achieved Olympic B standard. His selection rest in the hands the of the Athletics Canada Selection Committee. Milne’s selection will be a mere formality as he has achieved the Olympic A+ standard; while Stellingwerff will await word on whether her appeal will be accepted and she will be granted an extension of the qualifying period until the end of the month. |
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| Saturday, July 5 2008 - Gillis and Milne Impress On Day 1 Of The Olympic Trials |
Eric Gillis sent his final message to the Olympic selectors while teammate Taylor Milne sent a message to the field of the men's 1500 meter in a busy first day for the Speed River Track and Field Club at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Windsor. Gillis, who has run Olympic B standard over 10000 meters and has all ready captured the Canadian title at that distance, sharpened up by running the 5000 meters. Facing hometown hero Ryan McKenzie in the final race of the evening, Gillis and McKenzie traded the lead for the first three and half kilometers until McKenzie took the lead for good with three laps to go. At this point the two were well ahead of the field and Gillis easily captured the silver medal. Teammate Cleve Thorson made a late charge for a top five finish but it proved to be to little to late and he finished in sixth.
In the women's 5000 meters, Meghan Metcalfe dominated the field, leading from the gun and setting off at Olympic A standard pace. With Andrea Grove handily in second, an interesting battled shaped up for third with Erin Mclean of Nova Scotia and Speed River's Rachel Cliff. In the last 800 meters, Mclean made a strong move and unfortunately Cliff could not respond. The fourth place finish was very impressive for the 20 year old Cliff, who enjoyed a stelar junior career and was making her debut at the senior championships.
Also taking place Friday were the 1500 meters heats. The ladies race was the first of the day and defending champion Hilary Stellingwerff easily qualified for the final. For an athlete of Stellingwerff's calibre the heats are challenging exercise as there is very little that can be gained but a great deal that can be lost. Stellingwerff elected to stay towards the front never falling lower then third in her section, in the end Stellingwerff crossed the line second to automatically qualify for the final. Joining Stellingwerff in the final will be teammates Lindsay Carson and Shantelle Novak. Carson secured an automatic in Stellingwerff's heat, while Novak squeaked into the final qualifying in the final time place. Novak was a mere 1/100th of a second ahead of Katie Engel to qualify for Saturday's final which will be run at 5:30 pm.
In the men's 1500 the talk of the stadium was Taylor Milne's dominate performance in the second heat. Milne followed a similar strategy to Stellingwerff staying towards the front. With 250 to go, Milne moved to the front and in the span of 50 meters opened a 5 meter gap on the field. Needing only to finish in the top three in his section to qualify for the final, Milne did nearly a full turn around with 75 meters to go and observed his lead and trotted across the line in the fastest time of the day. Also joining Milne in the Saturday's final will be teammates Kyle Boorsma and Tim Konoval. Boorsma ran in the first section, after a pedestrian first two laps, the third lap gradual picked up and in the last 300 meters the race really heated up. Canadian 1500 meter recorder holder Kevin Sullivan won the section; with Boorsma hot on his heals finishing second. In the final section of the day Tim Konoval did much of the early leading in an effort to ensure an honest pace. Heading into the bell lap Kurt Benninger pushed past Konoval and the race for home was on. Gradually over the final 250 meters Benninger, Commonwealth Games Silver Meadlist Nate Brannen and Konoval pulled away from the field to qualify for the final. With only Milne and Sullivan having Olympic A standard, but Benninger and Brannen knocking on the door Saturday's final could be extremely quick, the race will be run at 5:40 pm.
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| Friday, July 4 2008 - Speed River At The Olympic Trials |
A busy weekend lies ahead for the Speed River Track and Field Club at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Full Results are available here
. Complete Meet Information is available here.
Women’s 800 Meters
Jenni Vanos
Heats: Saturday July 5th, 5:50 pm
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 3:05 pm
Men’s 800 Meters
Dustin Gamble
Heats: Saturday July 5th, 6:10 pm
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 3:15 pm
Women’s 1500 Meters
Lindsay Carson
Shantelle Novak
Hilary Stellingwerff
Heats: Friday July 4th, 6:10 pm
Finals: Saturday July 5th, 5:30 pm
Men’s 1500 Meters
Scott Arnald
Kyle Boormsa
Allan Brett
John Corbit
Tim Konoval
Angus Macaulay
Lee McCaron
Taylor Milne
Josh Roundell
Heats: Friday July 4th, 6:25 pm
Finals: Saturday July 5th, 5:40 pm
Women’s 5000 Meters
Rachel Cliff
Courtney Laurie
Finals: Friday July 4th, 9:00 pm
Men’s 5000 Meters
Eric Gillis
Cleve Thorson
Finals: Friday July 4th, 9:20 pm
Women’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Carolyn Ellis
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 2:25 pm
Men’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Max Paquette
Rob Watson
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 2:50 pm
Men’s High Jump
Cornell Haynes
Finals: Saturday July 5th, 3:00 pm
Women’s High Jump
Michelle Moody
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 1:00 pm
Men’s Discus
Owen Willems
Finals: Sunday July 6th, 2:00 pm
Men’s Hammer Throw
Dustin McCrank
Finals: Sunday July 5th, 6:30 pm
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| Friday, July 4 2008 - Taylor Milne Featured In North Bay Nugget |
Taylor Milne was featured in a lengthy article in today's North Bay Nugget. Milne, the native of nearby Callander, has been receiving a great deal of media coverage recently as he closes in on realizing his Olympic dream. He will need to be top four at this weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials in order to be named to the team.
North Bay Nugget Article |
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| Thursday, July 3 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 7- Quein' With The River |
Video highlights of last night's wonderful event at the University of Guelph stadium.
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| Thursday, July 3 2008 - Taylor Milne and Speed River Featured On CBC |
Two great articles on the Speed River club are available on the CBC website.
The first article discuss the growth of the club and its rise to national and international prominence. The second article chronicles Taylor Milne's struggles as he transitioned from collegiate to post collegiate life and his goals for this weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials.
Speed River article
Taylor Milne Article |
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| Wednesday, July 2 2008 - Thank You |
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The Speed River Track and Field Club, would like to thank all who attended tonight's community practice and Barbeque. It was wonderful to see such a great cross section of the running community. Stay tuned in the next few days for video highlights of the event and all the latest news on this weekend's exciting Olympic Trials. |
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