46.54 PB for Alistair Moona at the Canadian Junior Championships (© Claus Andersen)
With berths for the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships, July 19-25, at stake, competition was fierce inside the University of Moncton’s stadium on Saturday (3).
Jeremy Rae was the pre-race favourite in the men’s 1500m final having already run 3:42.86, the fastest time in the country this year, and he leaves Moncton with the gold medal. But it was by no means an easy race for the Notre Dame University runner.
A strong wind along the backstretch slowed the early pace down until John Paul Malette of Windsor Legion Track Club injected a surge with six hundred metres remaining and opened a ten metre gap. Rae gave chase and finally caught his rival thirty metres from the finish.
The winning time of 3:52.07 reflects the tactical nature of the race. Rae, who suffered from plantar fasciitis earlier in the season, earns a place on the Canadian team for the world juniors.
Malette held on for silver with a time of 3:53.16 with 16-year-old Robert Denault of the Newmarket Huskies third in 3:55.05.
“I knew J-P couldn’t leave it to the last lap because there are a lot better 800 guys than him,” Rae opined. “I knew the move was coming but I didn’t think it would be that hard. I just bided my time. With two hundred metres to go I knew he was tiring and I knew I could get him.”
“The goal is to make the final at the world (junior) championships. I think my 3:42 is what the guys who make it to the final run. I think I have the right tools to make it. The next two weeks I will take it a little easy. As long as I stay healthy I can make the final.”
In the women’s 1500 final Genevieve Lalonde of Moncton, Friday’s 2000m steeplechase winner, went immediately to the front, much to the approval of the hometown crowd. After three hundred metres she looked around for some help and was joined at the front by Jessica Parry of London-Western Track Club. They ran side by side until the final two hundred metres when Parry kicked for home.
Her winning time was 4:26.68 with Lalonde close behind at 4:27.35. Both athletes had earlier made the world championships standard and will represent Canada in Moncton in three weeks.
“I came here to win,” Parry said smiling broadly. “I was confident in my kick and of hopefully finishing in the top two. I was in Poland at the 2008 world juniors. I ran the 800m there. There was a ‘Moncton House’ there advertising this championship and I made that my goal to compete."
“I did see (Lalonde) look around. We race together a lot and I tend to lead. I expected the pace to be a little slower but Gen kept the pace honest. We worked together to keep the pace fast and it ended up being a good race.”
Moona clocks 46.54 PB
Alistair Moona of G Force Track Club in Mississauga, Ontario blasted through the first half of the men’s 400m final and was a clear leader as the field entered the home straight. Battling a headwind he still managed a personal best and new Canadian Junior Championship record time of 46.54. The silver medal went to his clubmate Tremaine Harris (47.82) while Adam Gaudes of the Fast Tracks Club finished third in 48.19.
“I came here to do my best time and I did just that,” the Jamaican-born runner said of his impressive performance. “I got out hard that was the main thing and then, on the last bend, I picked it up and I am OK with the time. I was trying to go 45 seconds but it’s hard. I am confident I will go 45.”
A number of athletes are competing in two or more events here but Chelsea Whalen of Launchers Athletics attempted a rather extraordinary double. She won the junior women’s Shot Put competition with a throw of 13.93m, which earned her a place on the Canadian Junior team and also finished second in the Javelin Throw (46.75m). The events were contested simultaneously.
“My coach and parents and I, we sat down and tried to get my mind around being in the two events at once,” she explained. “I simply focused on one event at a time and when I was at one event I totally forgot about the other.”
The sprint events were hampered by a strong wind gusts but Aaron Brown was a clear winner in the 100m in 11.01, running against a 5.1 metres per second wind.
The women’s race was extremely close with Shai Davis of BC Athletics squeezing out a gap of one one hundredth of a second over Calgary’s Loudia Laarman in 12.01 (-1.8m/s).
Paul Gains for the IAAF
Click here for full RESULTS
Click here for a Photo Gallery
Moncton-bound athletes from Day 2 -
MEN -
Aaron Brown, 100m, Phoenix Athletics
Alistair Moona, 400m, G-Force Track Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Tremaine Harris, 400m, G-Force Track Club
Jeremy Rae, 1500m, Niagara Regional Athletics
John-Paul Malette, 1500m, Windsor Legion
Segun Makinde, 110mH, Ottawa Lions
Tremaine Grant, 110mH, Unattached
Lane Britnell, pole vault, Riversdale Athletics
Taylor Stewart, long jump, London Western
Drew Welch, shot put, London Western
Caleb Jones, javelin throw, Saint John Track & Field Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Raymond Dykstra, javelin throw, Niagara Regional Athletics
WOMEN -
Shai-Anne Davis, 100m, Kajacks Track & Field Club
Loudia Laarman, 100m, Calgary International
Katie Reid, 400m, Kajacks Track & Field Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Chanice Taylor-Chase, 400m & 100mH, Elite Edge
Jessica Parry, 1500m, London Western
Geneviève Lalonde, 1500m, O2
Caroline Ehrhardt, long jump, Track North
Chelsea Whalen, shot put, Launchers Athletics
Tiffany Perkins, javelin throw, Unattached
Jeremy Rae was the pre-race favourite in the men’s 1500m final having already run 3:42.86, the fastest time in the country this year, and he leaves Moncton with the gold medal. But it was by no means an easy race for the Notre Dame University runner.
A strong wind along the backstretch slowed the early pace down until John Paul Malette of Windsor Legion Track Club injected a surge with six hundred metres remaining and opened a ten metre gap. Rae gave chase and finally caught his rival thirty metres from the finish.
The winning time of 3:52.07 reflects the tactical nature of the race. Rae, who suffered from plantar fasciitis earlier in the season, earns a place on the Canadian team for the world juniors.
Malette held on for silver with a time of 3:53.16 with 16-year-old Robert Denault of the Newmarket Huskies third in 3:55.05.
“I knew J-P couldn’t leave it to the last lap because there are a lot better 800 guys than him,” Rae opined. “I knew the move was coming but I didn’t think it would be that hard. I just bided my time. With two hundred metres to go I knew he was tiring and I knew I could get him.”
“The goal is to make the final at the world (junior) championships. I think my 3:42 is what the guys who make it to the final run. I think I have the right tools to make it. The next two weeks I will take it a little easy. As long as I stay healthy I can make the final.”
In the women’s 1500 final Genevieve Lalonde of Moncton, Friday’s 2000m steeplechase winner, went immediately to the front, much to the approval of the hometown crowd. After three hundred metres she looked around for some help and was joined at the front by Jessica Parry of London-Western Track Club. They ran side by side until the final two hundred metres when Parry kicked for home.
Her winning time was 4:26.68 with Lalonde close behind at 4:27.35. Both athletes had earlier made the world championships standard and will represent Canada in Moncton in three weeks.
“I came here to win,” Parry said smiling broadly. “I was confident in my kick and of hopefully finishing in the top two. I was in Poland at the 2008 world juniors. I ran the 800m there. There was a ‘Moncton House’ there advertising this championship and I made that my goal to compete."
“I did see (Lalonde) look around. We race together a lot and I tend to lead. I expected the pace to be a little slower but Gen kept the pace honest. We worked together to keep the pace fast and it ended up being a good race.”
Moona clocks 46.54 PB
Alistair Moona of G Force Track Club in Mississauga, Ontario blasted through the first half of the men’s 400m final and was a clear leader as the field entered the home straight. Battling a headwind he still managed a personal best and new Canadian Junior Championship record time of 46.54. The silver medal went to his clubmate Tremaine Harris (47.82) while Adam Gaudes of the Fast Tracks Club finished third in 48.19.
“I came here to do my best time and I did just that,” the Jamaican-born runner said of his impressive performance. “I got out hard that was the main thing and then, on the last bend, I picked it up and I am OK with the time. I was trying to go 45 seconds but it’s hard. I am confident I will go 45.”
A number of athletes are competing in two or more events here but Chelsea Whalen of Launchers Athletics attempted a rather extraordinary double. She won the junior women’s Shot Put competition with a throw of 13.93m, which earned her a place on the Canadian Junior team and also finished second in the Javelin Throw (46.75m). The events were contested simultaneously.
“My coach and parents and I, we sat down and tried to get my mind around being in the two events at once,” she explained. “I simply focused on one event at a time and when I was at one event I totally forgot about the other.”
The sprint events were hampered by a strong wind gusts but Aaron Brown was a clear winner in the 100m in 11.01, running against a 5.1 metres per second wind.
The women’s race was extremely close with Shai Davis of BC Athletics squeezing out a gap of one one hundredth of a second over Calgary’s Loudia Laarman in 12.01 (-1.8m/s).
Paul Gains for the IAAF
Click here for full RESULTS
Click here for a Photo Gallery
Moncton-bound athletes from Day 2 -
MEN -
Aaron Brown, 100m, Phoenix Athletics
Alistair Moona, 400m, G-Force Track Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Tremaine Harris, 400m, G-Force Track Club
Jeremy Rae, 1500m, Niagara Regional Athletics
John-Paul Malette, 1500m, Windsor Legion
Segun Makinde, 110mH, Ottawa Lions
Tremaine Grant, 110mH, Unattached
Lane Britnell, pole vault, Riversdale Athletics
Taylor Stewart, long jump, London Western
Drew Welch, shot put, London Western
Caleb Jones, javelin throw, Saint John Track & Field Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Raymond Dykstra, javelin throw, Niagara Regional Athletics
WOMEN -
Shai-Anne Davis, 100m, Kajacks Track & Field Club
Loudia Laarman, 100m, Calgary International
Katie Reid, 400m, Kajacks Track & Field Club, new CDN Jr Championship record
Chanice Taylor-Chase, 400m & 100mH, Elite Edge
Jessica Parry, 1500m, London Western
Geneviève Lalonde, 1500m, O2
Caroline Ehrhardt, long jump, Track North
Chelsea Whalen, shot put, Launchers Athletics
Tiffany Perkins, javelin throw, Unattached
