Posted: August 18, 2005

Athletics: CSG Decathlon finished after two gruelling days

Quebec, BC, and Saskatchewan reach medal podium

After two full days of competition, ten events, and a cliff-hanger of an ending, the Men’s Decathlon at the 2005 Canada Summer Games ended on Tuesday night. And even the medallists were surprised by the final results.

The gold medal was captured by Quebec’s Yassine El Fouladi, a 20-year old from Verdun, who clinched first place with a decisive win in the final event of the meet, the 1500M. El Fouladi benefited most from the misfortune of Ontario’s Massimo Bertocchi, who led for most of the competition before failing to post a score in the pole vault, the next-to-last event. That result dropped Bertocchi from first place down to sixth prior to the 1500M.

In the end, Michael Fraser of British Columbia took home the silver medal, while Saskatchewan’s Marc Baron finished third to capture the bronze.

“I wasn’t expecting to win any medal and here I am in first. I can’t feel any better,” El Fouladi exclaimed. After near-perfect weather on Monday, the competitors faced cool and windy conditions Tuesday evening. In spite of the tough wind conditions, El Fouladi went into the 1500M knowing the gold medal was within his grasp. “I was really tired after a great effort in pole vault, (which) took a lot out of me. I was struggling, but I had that gold medal in mind.”

Bronze medallist Marc Baron of Vanscoy, Saskatchewan was also elated at the final results. “The medal feels really good,” he said. Baron went into the 1500M race knowing he needed a good result to get into medal contention. “I wasn’t thinking about score really…I did what I had to do to get the medal.”

Both Baron and El Fouladi stressed the need to “stay focused” during the Decathlon competition, due to the gruelling nature of the event. “It’s hard to maintain your focus for all ten events…you have to get really pumped up for one event and then kind of wind down between events,” Baron explains. He said he was buoyed by the support of the home crowd. “Before your race, hearing the crowd cheer for you when they hear your name…it was great.”

And the cliché “it’s not over until it’s over” applies to this event as well. As El Fouladi said, “Anything can happen (in Decathlon) and we’ve seen it during these Games.” Athletics takes a break for rest and practice on Wednesday, with competition resuming at the Canada Games Athletic Complex (formerly Douglas Park) at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. For more information, please visit the 2005 Canada Summer Games web site at http://www.2005jeuxducanadagames.ca.

About The 2005 Canada Summer Games

The Canada Summer Games are held from August 6-20, 2005 in Regina and the surrounding communities of Moose Jaw, Lumsden and Saskatchewan Beach. More than 4,500 athletes, coaches, managers and officials from the 10 provinces and three territories will participate in the Games. The event is also expected to attract more than 200 members of the media, 750 VIPs and 12,000 visitors.

The Canada Games – Canada’s premiere multi-sport event – are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter sports, at locations across Canada. The first Canada Games were held in 1967 in Quebec City as part of Canada’s Centennial celebrations. The 2005 Canada Summer Games will coincide with Saskatchewan's Centennial. The Canada Games are the product of co-operation between the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments, host municipalities and the Canada Games Council.