Lead by two Beijing Olympians, four BC athletes peaked at the opportune moment in Belgrade, Serbia at the World Universiade Championships.

Mike Mason take Silver

Mike Mason of UBC captured the silver medal as he cleared the same height as Eduard Malchenko of Russia.  He lost the gold on a count back at 2.23m.

Ruky Injured in Serbia but takes Bronze

Ruky Abdulai of SFU won the Bronze in the long jump but suffered an injury to her quadriceps with a slip on the runway, jumping in a rainstorm. Her mark of 6.44m on her first jump was good enough even though she only had 2 jumps before her injury.

Rebecca takes medal at Universiade

Rebecca Johnstone, formerly of SFU took the bronze in the 800m behind Madeleine Pape of Australia with a time of 2:03.67 just .03 seconds of her Canadian best of 2009.

Liz Gleadle- New Canadian Record

Liz Gleadle broke the Canadian Record with her toss of 58.21m while taking 6th spot in the javelin.  Krista Woodward of New Westminster held the former record in 2007 with 56.06m

The Canadian track and field team has taken a total of 7 medals.
James Steacy of Lethbridge took the silver in the Hammer throw with 74.88m

Esther Akinsulie

Esther Akinsulie of Ottawa narrowly missed the gold in the 400m with 51.70 which as was just .05 seconds behind winner Fantou Bintou Fall of Senegal while teammate Carline Muir of Edmonton took the bronze in 52.04

Daniel Harper

Daniel Harper of Brampton ran a personal best of 46.22 for bronze in the 400m

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

JAMES STEACY wins Silver at FISU

Steacy wins silver at FISU Games; Abdulai captures the bronze

OTTAWA – Lethbridge, Alberta’s Jim Steacy was the first Canadian to capture an athletics medal at the 2009 Summer Universiade (FISU) in Belgrade, Serbia today. In the hammer throw Jim captured the silver medal with a throw of 74.88 metres; his sixth and final attempt. The gold medal was won by Yury Shayunou of Belarus with a throw of 76.92 metres.

Ruky Abdulai wins Bronze

Ruky Abdulai from Coquitlam, BC also made the podium winning bronze in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.44 metres. Ivana Spanovic of Serbia and Irina Kryachkova of Russia won the gold and silver medals in 6.64 metres and 6.47 metres respectively.

Additional results from today:

· Oluseyi Smith of Ottawa, ON finished 8^th in the 100m final running 10.48

· After day 1 of the Decathlon Jamie Adjetey-Nelson is in 6^th place with 3879 points

· Esther Akinsulie of Ottawa, ON and Carline Muir of Edmonton, AB will battle for a medal in the 400m final scheduled for tomorrow

· In the pole vault Gabriella Duclos-Lasnier of Quebec finished first in her qualifying group to secure a spot in the final on Friday

· Daniel Harper of Brampton, ON will advance to the final tomorrow in the men’s 400m; Nathan Vadeboncoeur of Winnipeg, MB does not advance

· Rebecca Johnstone of Bowen Island, BC finished second in her semi-final with a time of 2:04.13 and will advance to the 800m final tomorrow

· Sherbrooke Quebec’s Alex Genest will advance to the 3000-metre steeplechase final on Saturday; Meredith McGregor of Surrey BC did not advance in the women’s steeplechase

2009 Summer Universiade continues through to Sunday July 12; for full results visit: http://www.athletics.ca/page.asp?id=408.

-AC-

Emily Hooper

Coordinator, Public Relations and Corporate Services
Athletics Canada
(613) 260-5580 Ext. 3332
ehooper@athletics.ca

STRUGGLING TO GIVE KIDS A SPORTING CHANCE
By Tom Hawthorn
Special to The Globe and Mail
April 15, 2009

VANCOUVER

TATJANA MECE LEADING THE STUDENTS

Some children are born with pocket aces. Others face longer odds.

Few students at elementary schools in Vancouver’s poorer neighbourhoods grow up with computers in their bedroom, or get to experience horizon-expanding holidays in resorts.

They do not enjoy the services of private math tutors, or private sports instruction.

A pair of former Olympic runners – Doug Clement (1952, 1956) and Valerie Jerome (1960) – felt east-side students could benefit from an introduction to their sport. In running, those young lives might find a sense of direction, even if it was mostly loops around an oval cinder track.

The Olympians knew how beneficial sport was to their lives. He grew up around Main and East 25th Avenue, the son of an electrical engineer. She grew up in North Vancouver, the daughter of a railway porter. On the track, they found a purpose as well as a community.

Two years ago, they helped launch a program in which coaches visited inner-city schools twice a week for four months. The coaching was conducted by Tatjana and Besnik Mece, both of whom had been national-team members in their native Albania, he as a steeplechaser, she as a pentathlete and high jumper. Both hold university degrees in human kinetics.

Their philosophy: Some children don’t know they have a talent until given an opportunity.

The training sessions culminated in a track meet held during the annual Harry Jerome International Track Classic.

The little kids ran in the very lanes in which the world’s greatest runners competed.

“We thought bringing young children right up beside the professional Olympic athletes might be stimulating for them,” Mr. Clement said.

A year ago, Gary Reed visited Hastings Elementary School, where he offered running tips to about 100 eager students. Mr. Reed is familiar with growing up poor, as he spent a peripatetic childhood as his single mother moved often in search of work.

The Hastings students adopted the 800-metre runner as other classes might take on a pet hamster. They created a long, scroll-like banner to encourage him at the Beijing Olympics.

Mr. Clement and Ms. Jerome were delighted.

THUNDERBIRD ELEMENTARY- JEROME OUTREACH PROGRAM

The program was a success. Underprivileged children got world-class instruction, as well as an inexpensive introduction to the world of sports.

In the first year, they had six schools.

In the second year, they had eight schools.

In this the third year, they were hoping to expand. It is an election year.

Gangs and drugs are in the news. The Winter Olympics are around the corner. Who wouldn’t want to back an initiative promoting fitness and opportunity for inner-city children?

Organizers checked in with sponsors last week to confirm commitments.

Ms. Jerome was devastated by the response.

A law firm backed out, saying it could no longer contribute while laying off lawyers.

Other sponsors also backed out with reluctance and apologies.

With a modest budget of $52,000, the program so far has but a lone corporate backer for the coming year.

In a time of belt-tightening, those with little are about to get even less.

“We pay in the long run when we don’t find something else for these children,” Ms. Jerome said. “We neglect them at our peril.”

Her brother, the great Olympic runner Harry Jerome, a world-record holder in the 100-metre dash, overcame humble beginnings and racial prejudice to become a world-class sprinter. After retiring from the track, he was hired by the federal government to promote sports and fitness among the young. In B.C., he launched a program in which school children got to experience different sports.

“His biggest passion in life was sports for kids,” his sister said of a brother who died suddenly at age 42 in 1982. “He desperately wanted those children to have the same opportunity he did.”

You never know from what soil an Olympian will spring.

Back in 1979, as desperate migrants from Vietnam sought refuge, a United Church group in the village of Hazelton in the B.C. Interior agreed to help settle a mother, a father, two children and an uncle. A girl was born to the family within the year. In high school, she became a wrestler thanks to a coach who was himself an immigrant from the United States.

The slight, muscular athlete developed into a fierce competitor and, at the Beijing Olympics, Carol Huynh won a gold medal while wearing the singlet of her birthplace and her parents’ adopted home. The daughter of Vietnamese boat people, who as a group were not universally welcomed to this land, made the most of her opportunity.

In Vancouver’s concrete and gravel schoolyards, future Harry and Valerie Jeromes might go ignored for want of a coach. Unless more sponsors are found, those school kids will be deprived of an opportunity in a world in which there are already too few.

2009 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Tom Hawthorn
Tom Hawthorn is a freelance newspaper and magazine writer who lives in Victoria, B.C. He writes a twice-weekly column for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. He is finishing a book about the war experiences of the McGill University football team. It is titled, “A Greater Share of Honour.”

CANADIAN TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES OF THE MONTH – June 2009

OLYMPIC CATEGORY

Dylan throws 20.92m

DYLAN ARMSTRONG of Kamloops, BC started the season with a whirlwind tour of Europe collecting 2 major wins in Germany and Serbia.  His best shot put throw in June was achieved at the Victoria International with 20.92m. He followed this with golds at the Jerome Classic and National Championships. He and coach Dr.Anatolyi Bondarchuk
are hoping to peak at the Berlin World Championships in August.

Perdita wins national showdown

PERDITA FELICIEN of Pickering, Ontario has struggled with accident and injury since her gold in the 2003 World Championships. After her crash in the 2004 Athens Olympic final, she redeemed herself in 2007 with a silver at the World Championships only to face the frustration of injury for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet another comeback was made at the Nationals when she defeated teammate Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, the Olympic Bronze  medalist. for her 7th Canadian title.

INTERCOLLEGIATE CATEGORY

Gavin Smellie and Jared Connaughton

Gavin Smellie of Etobicoke, Ontario, and a junior at University of Western Kentucky took the Sunbelt Conference sprint titles with 10.29 and 20.58 clocking over the 100m and 200m.  He took 5th spot in the NCAA final. His personal and seasonal best for the furlong time of 20.45 leads the Canadian list for 2009. He will represent Canada at the FISU Games in Serbia this month.

Bianne wins NCAA

BRIANNE THEISEN of Humboldt, SK won in heptathlon at the NCAA Championships with her 6086 points.  The University of Oregon student is ranked 21st in the world and has her World Championship B standard.   As she also took gold at the Canadian Championships, she is a prime candidate to be selected as a “Rising Star” for Berlin.  She competed in the IAAF World Youth Championships in 2005  and IAAF World Junior Championships in 2006

HIGH SCHOOL CATEGORY

Django jumps 2.16m

Django Lovett of Langley, BC won the BC HIGH SCHOOL Championships and followed that with an incredible high jump of 2.15 m at the Jerome Classic. Ziggy Szelagowicz of the Valley Royals Club was even more pleased when he broke the Canadian Youth Record
in Kelowna with 2.16 m

Shai-anne Davis of Richmond, BC won the Provincial High School Titles has recorded times of 11.8 and 24.24 for the sprints. Coach, Mike Murray of the Kajaks Track and Field Club feels this young sprinter has great potential as she is still in grade 10.  She will join Django at the World Youth Championships in Italy this week

Bruny Surin Speaks UP!

Exclusive: Former star sprinter Surin upset over state of sport in Canada

By Christopher Galakoutis

Wednesday, July 1 2009 3:01:58 PM

The quiet lion of track & field is staying quiet no more.  And he’s got Canadian track & field officials square in his sights.

Upset about Canada’s medal count decline on the world scene the last few years and the recent departures of Canadian coaches for greener pastures, Bruny Surin, in an exclusive interview told HellenicAthletes.com: “I do not know where our sport is going in Canada.

“I don’t believe our officials are looking at the bigger picture and investing in the future of the sport, investing wisely.”

Surin’s comments come as Derek Evely, the coach of the Edmonton sprint group that includes 2005 world championship bronze medallist Tyler Christopher, is leaving Canada after being named director on Tuesday of a new high performance center at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.

“What is Athletics Canada (AC) doing to try to keep those coaches here?” asked Surin, echoing the frustrations of athletes like Christopher, who in January saw his former coach Kevin Tyler also depart for the UK, where he is the head of coaching and development at UK Athletics.  The British invasion doesn’t end there, as triathlon coach Joel Filliol was also lured away by the British, as was Peter Eriksson.

Surin believes AC has not done enough to foster a positive culture for the sport in Canada by failing to set up a good support structure, pointing back to his competitive days to make his case.

Surin said: “When I was competing, I had to put together my own support crew in order to be able to compete at the highest level, there was no assistance from AC.

“Which is why I am asking how AC is spending the dollars it receives.  It receives money from the ‘Own the Podium’ program, for example, but how is it investing this money?

“What is AC doing for its coaches and athletes, with that money?  They want a good sprint program, a good relay program, but where are the results?

“I am very frustrated with what I am seeing in Canadian track.”

Funded primarily by the Government of Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), ‘Own the Podium’ is a sport technical program designed to help Canadian sport federations and their athletes and coaches achieve greater podium success. Its initial goal was to help Canada become the top nation in terms of medal count at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and was later expanded to Canada’s summer athletes, with the goal of having top-12 placing at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Surin said that after his retirement in 2002, he approached AC and offered to help in any way he could, thinking his experiences and know-how, after having reached the top of the podium on several occasions, would be appreciated and pounced on by AC.  He never heard back.

“You have people with the knowledge, that have been there, like myself and Donovan Bailey for example, sitting here watching this all happen, and it’s very frustrating not to be contributing in some way or have a say in the direction our sport it taking,” he said.

Since retiring from competition, Surin has had a successful business career, running his own nutritional supplement line that is sold in Quebec’s largest pharmacies and health stores, a clothing line, as well as a sports management firm.  So this isn’t about needing a job.

Surin said he would like to have a face-to-face meeting with AC chief Joanne Mortimore, and discuss some of the issues on his mind.  Should nothing come of it, he plans to look into establishing some sort of privately funded coaching academy, where athletes can get the support they need.

“I was at a regional track meet recently, and it was a disaster.  No organization at all, badly attended.  No leadership.  It’s all very sad,” he said.

*****

Chris Galakoutis is a business and sports writer, as well as the founder and managing editor of HellenicAthletes.com.  He can be reached at Chris@hellenicathletes.com