Priscilla Lopes-Schliep captured a silver medal in the 100-metre hurdles at this year’s world championships in Berlin. (David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

Track stars Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, Perdita Felicien and Gary Reed are the finalists for the 2009 Athletics Canada overall athlete of the year award.

Lopes-Schliep, of Whitby, Ont., won a silver medal in the 100-metre hurdles at this year’s world championships. Felicien, of Pickering, Ont., made it to the final but clipped a hurdle and finished last.

Reed, of Victoria, won a silver medal at the 2009 world athletics final.

The Jack W. Davies Trophy will be handed out at a gala in Vancouver on Nov. 14, Athletics Canada said in a release Monday.

The trio is also up for the Phil A. Edwards Trophy for track athlete of the year.

In addition, Lopes-Schliep and Reed are up for the Cal D. Bricker Memorial Trophy for the single outstanding performance of the year. Julie Labonte of Ste-Justine, Que., is the other nominee. She broke a 45-year-old Canadian junior record in the shot put at the national junior championships.

Labonte, Sultana Frizell of Kamloops, B.C., and Jim Steacy of Lethbridge, Alta., are the nominees for the F.N.A. Rowell Trophy for field athlete of the year.

Coach of the year nominees include Anthony McCleary of Pickering, Ont., Dave Scott-Thomas of Guelph, Ont., and Brenda Van Tighem of Calgary.

McCleary coaches Lopes-Schliep and sprinter Toyin Olupona. Scott-Thomas is a coach at the University of Guelph and Speed River Track and Field Club. Van Tighem is a coach at the University of Calgary and also handles personal coaching duties for Sam Effah and Amonn Nelson.

The finalists and winners in the 12 award categories are chosen by Athletics Canada’s awards committee.

Coach’s influence ‘critical’

By Don Fennell – Richmond Review

Diane and Doug Clement

WHAT MAKES A great coach? One of Canada’s most revered track and field leaders says it is helping an athlete become “the best person and athlete they can be—in that order.” Doug Clement credits his coach at the University of Oregon, BillBowerman, for having a profound influence on his life. A star athlete at Vancouver’s King Edward High School, Clement attended Oregon on a track scholarship in 1952. That same year he was a member of Canada’s 4×400-metre relay team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. But Bowerman, who introduced jogging as a health benefit to North Americans leading to him co-founding Nike, saw in Clement more than just an athlete. He encouraged his pupil to not only teach physical education (which was Clement’s initial intent) but to expand horizons and consider a career in medicine. Clement heeded the advice and in 1955 enrolled in the University of B.C. medical school. Graduating in 1959, he set up a general practice in Richmond and became a leading proponent of exercise in preventing heart disease. In 1962, he and his wife Diane founded the Richmond Kajaks, which became the top track and field club in Canada. Clement’s coaching and influence produced such future Olympians as Charmaine Crooks and Lynn Williams. At a recent coaching conference in Richmond, Clement noted that Williams (bronze medallist in the 3,000 metres at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics) went through a flat period early in her career, following an injury, when she didn’t have the belief in herself to realize what her potential was. “You have to be careful not to close the doors on people,” Clement said. “Some of the best discipline comes from those athletes nowhere close to the international level. It’s important then to recognize that it’s not just the performance that counts, but it’s the person.” It is “critical,” said Clement, to understand that a coach may become, for a time at least, the most important person in a young athlete’s life. Though sport as a competitive career is only a small period of a person’s life, that coach can help shape who that athlete ultimately becomes, he said.

Richmond School District administrator Glenn Kishi was also a strong athlete in high school. And like Clement, he says former coaches greatly influenced him. “Sport teaches you about life and you get bits and pieces from everybody,” said Kishi, whose high school coaches included Ian Anderson, Kent Chappell and Charlie Phipps. “Ian was known for his strategy and because I later coached with him I learned to appreciate the time he put into preparation. To do that you’ve got be well organized. Charlie was also so disciplined and Kent always promoted values.” Kishi often assumed a leadership or captain’s role on his teams. He was never much of a rah-rah player, but tried to be a good example by demonstrating the qualities he admired in the coaches. He later, as a coach himself, showed and passed on those qualities to his players. “On a team everyone has a role and needs to understand that role,” Kishi said. “Not everyone can be the quarterback, but every role is equally important. When I was coaching I was not just teaching them a sport but life lessons.”

Clement spent several years in the 1990s as the medical doctor for the Vancouver Canucks. Despite the fact hockey was now a job for the players, money did not enter into their approach because they all bought into the sub-culture of it still being a game, he said.

“When you’re directing a program you want to teach through positive reinforcement,” Clement said. “(The athletes) know they’ve done well or not.” Many coaches believe the target should be just ahead of what an athlete can achieve. But Clement said it should be exactly where they can achieve it. While coaching with the Kajaks, Clement used a system in which a target was established every workout. But it was all but ensured the target would be reached, he said. “The same principles are used for the next step and that becomes infectious,” he said. “The athletes come to believe they will make it and there’s nothing like success to breed success. Don’t put the carrot just out of reach.” Ironically, while stressing the enormous influence a coach can have on athlete, Clement said his goal was to be superfluous. “The critical component is to ensure you’ve prepared for athlete(s) to work without you,” said Clement, adding that the best athletes will seek your support when and if they need it. Speaking from a medical perspective, Clement also said one ongoing dilemma that coaches struggle with globally is understanding how far to “push” athletes without having them sustain injuries because of over-using their muscles. “A stress-fracture is an over-use injury,” Clement said. “It’s the process of imbalance that leads to the fracture.”

2009 Alberta Race Walk Championships, Edmonton, AB, September 12 ,2009

Dunfee and Gomez

Men 10k masculin
1.            Inaki Gomez, 43:36

Men 20k masculin
1.            Evan Dunfee, 1:29.13 (Personal Record)
Note : This is the fastest time posted at this distance by a junior athlete in Canada.

Rudisha and Reed at WAF photo by Getty

Gary Reed of Kamloops won the silver  medal today at the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece before a crowd of 27,500.  David Lekuta Rudisha of Kenya took the gold in 1:44.85 after a tactical 53.0 second first lap of 400m. Rudisha leads the world in 2009 with his 1:42.01 clocking this season. Gary was lying in 7th spot with 200m to go but delivered a tremendous closing finish to pass world champion, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa and Olympic champion, Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia. Reed improved on his 4th place at the 2009 Beijing Olympics and equaled his 2007 silver medal at the World Championships with his 1:45.23.

Priscilla Lopes Schliep and Perdita Felicien hit the line in the 100m hurdles in a blanket finish where 2nd through 5th place recorded identical times of 12.61.  The world champion, Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica lead with 12.58 while Dawn Harper of the US, Delloreen Ennis -London of Jamaica were awarded the silver and bronze medal positions after prolonged inspection of the photo finish. This gave Priscilla and Perdita the 4th and 5th spots.  Needless to say, this event is perhaps the most competitive event in the IAAF schedule. Priscilla took the bronze in Beijing and the silver medalat the World Championship in Berlin.

Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops struggled in the shot put recording 19.61m in 8th place behind Christian Cantwell of the US who won with 22.16m

Sultana Frizell of Ottawa threw 68.07m for 6th place behind winner Betty Heidler of Germany in the women’s hammer throw.

Nate Brannen of Ontario came 9th in the 1500m in 3:40.12 as William Tanui of Kenya took the gold in 3:35.04

ACHILLES’ ATHLETES OF THE MONTH-August 2009

OLYMPIC DIVISION

Gary Reed
As predicted getting through the heats and semis in Berlin was a challenge. With only 2 to qualify in each round, advancing to the finals would take luck, which Gary did not have this time. World and Olympic competitions are definitely a different game when “pacemakers” are out of the formula. Gary placed exactly where he ranked on the start list as it turned out 10^th spot. In Zurich he place 5^th and in Bruxelles (click for video)took the bronze medal ahead of the World Champion, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa. This event is perhaps the most difficult to predict as on any given day the top 10 can change places.

Priscilla takes Berlin!

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Priscilla proved once again that she is our best athlete as she moved up a notch from Beijing with her silver medal to be our sole podium finish in Berlin. Perdita Felicien made the Berlin final but ran into bad luck with “cramps” at the start. Later she defeated Priscilla in Zurich taking the bronze in 12.61 and is ranked 7^th in the world behind Priscilla’s 2^nd place position. Priscilla ran her pb of 12.49 in Bruxelles (click for video)with a narrow loss to Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica , the World Champion. The 100m hurdles is clearly our best event as we rank number 3 in the world behind Jamaica and the US.

JUNIOR DIVISION

Gabriel El Hanbli

Gabriel El Hanbli takes the under 20 category with his 51.47 pb in the 400h hurdles and his gold medal in the Canada Summer Games. Gabriel, from Repentigny, Quebec took 5^th place in the Pan American Games Junior Championships. He has improved almost 2 seconds from his 2008 best of 53.48

Julie Labonte

Julie Labonté of Ste-Justine, QC won the Canada summer Games with her16.23m. She had set the Canadian Junior record as she won the 2009 Canadian Junior Championships with 16.39m.  She also took the silver Medal at the Pan American Junior Championships in Trinidad.  Last fall she was the winner of Eric E. Coy Memorial Trophy – Outstanding Junior Athlete of the Year as she won the gold medal in shot put at the Commonwealth Youth Games by throwing 15.02m.

YOUTH DIVISION

Akeem Haynes

Akeem Haynes of Calgary wins the 17 years and under section with his Canada Summer Games victory in the 100m with his 10.47 (1.3). This high school student at Crescent Heights is ranked 10^th in the world in the Youth division. He has a pending Canadian Youth record of 21.48 in the 200m. This was his first year of full sprint training after playing football.

Katie Reid #65

Katie Reid of Surrey, BC won the gold at the Canadian Youth Championships in the 400m and has a pb of 54.90. This grade 10 student at Earl Marriot Secondary took the bronze at the Canada Summer Games. This 16 year old Ocean Athletics speed star was edged by another runner of the same age, Carly Paracholski of Manitoba in Charlottetown but defeated her in Sherbrooke

Canadian native sprinter competed in Hitler’s Berlin Olympics.

Sept. 3, 2009

The Monroe Monitor & Valley News
August 4, 2009
By Polly Keary, editor

It was perhaps the most famous moment in American Olympic history. It was 1936, and Hitler was just beginning to ramp up his white supremacist rhetoric. African American runner Jesse Owens crossed the finish line at the Berlin Olympics easily in first, a living repudiation of Hitler’s racist philosophy. Sharing the moment, just two steps behind Owens, was American runner Lee Orr, of Monroe. Orr died Thursday, July 23, at home. He was 92.

Gladys Orr, Lee Orr’s wife, said that she always knew about his Olympic accomplishments. But it wasn’t until after his death that she learned about his other athletic accomplishments.

“He went to grade school here and excelled at some things in school, but I didn’t know he did until they brought out things for his memorial,” she said.

Orr wasn’t much for blowing his own horn. But his athletic promise showed up early. The native of Saskatchewan, Canada, came to Monroe in 1920 at the age of three, where his father had a watchmaking business and his grandfather had a carpentry business, and then entered Park Place School.

While still in Park Place School, in the sixth grade, he won his first track trophy. He went on to letter in football and track for the Monroe Union High School Bearcats.

“I can remember one touchdown he made in football where John Danhoff gave a key block for Lee and Lee ran around left end and no one could catch him,” said fellow student Merv Boyes to a relative of Orr’s. “He had amazing speed.”

He dominated competitions in sprint, broad jump, 100-yard dash, 220- yard dash and relay. In May 1935, he was the high point earner at two county track meets. Part of the reason he was so fast is that every day for lunch, he ran from school to his father’s jewelry store, a mile away.

He ultimately won two state titles and still holds the record for the 220-yard dash.

After high school, Orr ran for the Washington State University Cougars, working as a stock boy for $35 a day to get through school in the days before athletic scholarships. The six-foot, 175 pound freshman dazzled his coaches. He went on to eight Pacific Coast North Division titles and an NCAA championship in the 440-yard run. And he and his brother Jack ran with the Cougar relay team that set a world record in June, 1937. Orr was inducted into the Washington Athletic Hall of Fame.

But the highlight of his career came when he qualified to go to the Olympics. Because Orr was born in Canada, he was a Canadian citizen, and won a slot on the Canadian Olympic team in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in Vancouver, B.C. in 1936 at the age of 18. He placed fifth in the 200-meter dash, following Jesse Owens.

To his surprise, he did even better in the quarter-finals, when he equaled the world record of 21.2 seconds.

In the finals, he said that it was more of a thrill to lose to Jesse Owens than to win any other race. He described Owens as very likable, a nice, quiet and modest man.

Orr also stood just 10 feet from Hitler, Goebles and Goering, who would go on to become the most infamous war criminals in history. At the time, they didn’t seem so bad, Orr later commented. And Germans were very friendly.

In 1938, Orr graduated with a degree in teaching, and put his athletic career behind him, although he remained fit and active for the rest of his life. He did, however, return to Germany in World War II, this time to fight Hitler. During his 18 months in the war, he ran and played football for fun. At one meet, he was presented with a medal by General George Patton himself.

Upon returning from the war, he went to work for the Hormel Meat Packing plant in Seattle, where he met the woman he would spend the last half of his life with. At first, he was too much of a company man to date any of his subordinates, said Gladys, who went to work for him in 1950. But then he was transferred to Nebraska for seven years. “I got to know him better after he went to Nebraska because me came back for vacations,” said Gladys. They went on a lot of motorcycle rides, a passion Orr picked up living in Nebraska.

The people he rose with in Nebraska remained in contact for decades after that, said Gladys. And they went camping a lot, another pastime Orr loved.

The couple moved to Monroe and spent the next 30 years working on their home and property just east of Monroe on U.S. 2. During that time, the couple never spent the night apart. They shared a lot of joy, but a lot of sorrow too. Gladys lost her only son 12 years ago, and Lee lost his only daughter one year ago.

Orr loved his grandkids a great deal, including a great granddaughter, who just did a show-and-tell on her great grandpa’s Olympic accomplishments. Now those accomplishments will be shared with all, as many of Orr’s medals and trophies will go to the Monroe Historical Society.

What Gladys hopes people know, in addition to Orr’s athletic prowess, was that he was also a good person. “He was the kindest man in the world,” said Gladys. “He was really great to know.”

Priscilla takes silver. photo by David J Phillip/Associated Press

It is my opinion contrary to other observers, that our Canadian team at the recent World Championships in Berlin exceeded their predicted performances using an evidence based method. Anyone who has competed or coached at the Olympic or World Championships recognizes that peripherally involved members of the media are asked to report on sports of which they have limited experience or knowledge. This is not the case in this situation. Paul Gains, who has extensive background in the sport of track and field, has written for CBC Sports with headlines “Disappointing World Track Championships for Canada”. He focuses on predictions attributed to Athletics Canada that 2 medals would be won by our Canadian athletes. I find it difficult to support those predictions. I find no statistical evidence basis to support that opinion. If there is disappointment on my part it is not directed to our athletes. Could Athletics Canada have set unrealistic targets? Was the bar set too high to be fair to our athletes?  Did the media really understand the evidence based prediction? Careful analysis of the statistical data before and after the World Championships shows that our team performed as predicted. 1 medal, 3 top eight positions and 8 top sixteen spots. I agree that the reality of any sporting activity introduces surprises on all fronts: illness, injury, weather, luck of the draw, spills and thrills. These make true prediction impossible. But were our athletes meeting the mark? Yes, the team delivered exactly as expected. Should we be disappointed? No, we congratulate them!  That is my opinion!

Doug Clement- (not endorsed by BC Athletics or Athletics Canada)

Analysis

Medal expectations

27 events were entered by Canada in the World Championships.. Lopes-Schliep was the only athlete ranked to win a medal and that was achieved. Check this interview! Felicien, Armstrong and Reed were not ranked in a medal position. Priscilla improved the colour of her medal to silver!

Top 8 expectations

Canada was ranked to obtain 3 spots in the top 8. These were Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, Perdita Felicien and the men’s 4x100m. These athletes obtained final positions to equal that goal.

Top 16 expectations

Canada achieved 8 positions in the top 16 at the conclusion of the Championships. These were Lopes-Schliep, men’s 4x100m, Felicien, women’s 4x400m, Reed, Frizell, Theisen and Abdulai. Canada was scheduled prior to the competition to achieve 7 positions in the top 16. Only Armstrong moved down to 18^th while Theisen and Abdulai moved up from 17^th and 22^nd respectively.

Over all team expectations

78% of athletes in the 21 events, performed at or above their ranking, moving upwards an average of 14 spots each. 6 athletes performed below expectations slipping an average of 5 spots in ranking.

Using this +/- ranking system based on the difference in start list ranking and finishing ranking, the Canadian team was (+304-30 )= +274. If the score was zero, the team met expectations. If the score was a negative number our team would have failed to meet expectations. +274 means the team performed exceeding higher than anticipated!

External expectations

All-Athletics released today information on the Prediction vs. Reality in medal count prediction. 25 countries including US, Russia, Kenya and Ethiopia failed to reach their expected total medal prediction. 11 nations met their prediction. Canada was in this group along with Australia, Cuba and New Zealand. 13 Countries exceeded their medal expectations. These included Jamaica, Germany, Poland, Great Britain and China.

Track and Field News predicted no medals for Canada.

Results of Canadian Team in Berlin (compiled by Doug Clement)

Finish Name Event Home Coach Rank start list-finish= +/-

2 Priscilla Lopes-Schliep 100m Hurdles Whitby, ON Anthony McCleary (2-2)=0

5 4×100 Effah, Smith, Connaughton, Barnett + Palmer (7-5)=+2

8 Perdita Felicien 100m Hurdles Pickering, ON Gary Winckler (5-8)=-3

9 4x400m Akinsulie, Power, Martin, Muir + Hyacinthe & Nelson (14-9)=+5

10 Gary Reed 800m Victoria, BC Wynn Gmitroski (10-10)=0

10 Sultana Frizell Hammer Throw Perth, ON Anatoliy Bondarchuk (15-10)=+5

15 Brianne Theisen Heptathlon Humboldt, SK Todd Johnston (17-15)=+2

15 Ruky Abdulai Long Jump Coquitlam, BC Jarrold Jones (22-15)=+7

18 Kelsie Hendry Pole Vault Saskatoon, SK Rick & Susanne Petrucha (17-18)=-1

18 Dylan Armstrong Shot Put Kamloops, BC Anatoliy Bondarchuk (9-18)=-9

20 Nathan Brannen 1500m Cambridge, ON Ron Warhurst (33-20)=+13

20 Sam Effah 4×100m Calgary, AB Brenda Van Tighem (51-20)=+31

21 Gavin Smellie 4×100m Etobicoke, ON Erik Jenkins (17-21)=-4

22 Jared Connaughton 4×100m New Haven, PEI Monte Stratton (42-22)=+20

23 Jennifer Joyce Hammer Throw Kamloops, BC Anatoliy Bondarchuk (25-23)=+2
25 Esther Akinsulie 4×400m Ottawa, ON Hugh Conlin (24-25)=+1
25 Adrienne Power 4×400m Halifax, NS Peter Lord (26-25)=+1

25 Reid Coolsaet Marathon Hamilton, ON Dave Scott-Thomas (90-25)=+65
26 Angela Whyte 100m Hurdles Edmonton, AB Wayne Phipps (22-26)=-4
31 Robin Watson 3000m Steeplechase London, ON Dave Scott-Thomas (27-31)=-4
33 Dylan Wykes Marathon Kingston, ON Steve Boyd (80-33)=+47
33 Alice Falaiye Long Jump Mississauga, ON Marc Christie (25-33)=-8
35 Rachel Lavallée 20km Racewalk Peterborough, ON Stafford Whalen (51-35)=+17

36 Tara Quinn-Smith Marathon Toronto, ON Hugh Cameron (56-36)=+20
40 Bryan Barnett 4×100m Edmonton, AB Quin Sekulich (45-40)=+5
53 Andrew Smith Marathon Toronto, ON Hugh Cameron (85-53)=+32

56 Giitah Macharia Marathon Oakville, ON Steven Keating (87-56)=+31

Relay members not individual events
Kimberly Hyacinthe 4×400m Lachenaie, QC Daniel St-Hilaire
Jenna Martin 4×400m Bridgewater, NS Charles Scarrow
Carline Muir 4×400m Edmonton, AB Derek Evely
Amonn Nelson 4×400m Calgary, AB Brenda Van Tighem
Hank Palmer 4×100m Lasalle, QC Daniel St-Hilaire
Oluseyi Smith 4×100m Ottawa, ON Glenroy Gilbert

PREDICTION vs. REALITY

August 24, 2009

Based on the All-Athletics World Rankings dated 11.08.2009 the medal distribution by countries at the World Championships was predicted on 12 August. Check how it turned out in reality:

Acknowlegement to All-Athletics.