Posted: August 11, 2005

Athletics: Jacques Martin of Sherbrooke, Que., win men's wheelchair javelin gold at IAAF World Championships

HELSINKI- Jacques Martin of Sherbrooke, Que., won the gold medal Thursday in the men's wheelchair javelin throw competition at the IAAF World Championships in track and field, while Gary Reed of Victoria advanced to the semifinals in the men's 800.

In the men's wheelchair javelin held through a steady downpour, Martin took the gold with his best distance measured at 24.97 metres on his fifth of sixth throws. Markku Niinimaki of Finland was second at 23.82 and Gerasimos Vrionis of Greece third at 16.75. Martin, 44, has competed at six Paralympic Games collecting six medals in throwing events.

"This is one of the highlights of my career," said Martin. "I was just coming here to compete and not expecting to win any medals. I think the rain probably helped me a bit to win however I didn't have my best throws. It was hard to get a good grip on the javelin."

In the men's 800 opening heats, Gary Reed of Victoria finished second in his heat in 1:47.23. Manuel Antonio Reina of Spain won the heat in 1:47.14 and Amine Laalou of Morocco was third in 1:47.62.

"I'm very happy, everything went as planned," said Reed, who has broken his Canadian twice this year and now stands at 1:44.54. "I'm most pleased that I felt very good at the finish. There's definitely more in the tank for tomorrow."

The news wasn't so good for Achrif Tadili of Montreal as he placed fifth in his heat in 1:48.52 and was eliminated.

The semifinals are on Friday and the final on Sunday.

In the women's 400 hurdles semifinal, Tawa Dortch of Edmonton clocked a personal best 55.58 to finish fourth in the heat and missed advancing to the final by half a second.

"I executed my game plan to a tee up to the eighth (of 10) hurdle," said Dortch, 25, competing at her first world championships. "I pushed through the fifth, sixth, and seventh hurdle harder than ever. I probably needed to relax more at the finish. But I'm pretty happy with the result. This was only my fifth race this year` and I was behind in my training."

In the men's 5,000 metres, Reid Coolsaet of Guelph, Ont., was 14th in his heat and eliminated.

On Friday there are three Canadians in finals with Tyler Christopher of Chilliwack, B.C., in the men's 400, Dana Ellis of Kitchener, Ont., in the women's pole vault and Tim Berrett of Edmonton in the men's 50 kilometre walk. Christopher posted the fastest time in Wednesday's semis.

Also in action are Reed in the 800 semis while opening heats are scheduled for the men's 4X100 relay, Mark Boswell of Brampton, Ont., in the men's high jump and Carmen Douma-Hussar of Cambridge, Ont., in the women's 1,500.