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August 5th 2006, OTTAWA - It was billed as THE event of the Canadian track and field championships and it didn’t disappoint as Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., won a close battle for the gold on Saturday in the women’s 100-metre hurdles.
Felicien, the 2003 world champion, clocked 12.64 seconds with Olympic finalist Angela Whyte of Edmonton second in 12.69 and their Olympic teammate Priscilla Lopes of Whitby, Ont., third in 12.78.
“This is my sixth Canadian title and it is definitely the sweetest,” said Felicien, whose season has been marred by injuries. “The fact that I’m just healthy right now is a huge relief. But time wise it’s still May for me. I need to be more consistently in the 12.4 and 12.5 range. Hurdles is all about rhythm and now I’m healthy enough that I’ll be able to race every couple of days. Those times should drop.”
World championship bronze medallist Tyler Christopher of Edmonton took the men’s 400 metres in 45.68 seconds with Adam Kunkel of Paisley, Ont., second in 46.44 and Pierre Vadeboncoeur of Winnipeg third in 46.86.
“I wanted to come here and focus on my own race,” said Christopher. “I went out relaxed and came home strong. This year I’m running a lot more and training a lot harder and we’re figuring out ways to run a more ideal 400.”
Wheelchair races were also showcased on Saturday. Quintuple Paralympic champion Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal took the women’s 800 metre and Michel Filteau of St-Jean-Baptiste, Que., took the 1,500.
“I was working on my speed,” said Petitclerc, who returned to competition last month after a lengthy illness. “I especially wanted to see how strong I was in the final 200 metres. I’m playing catch up right now and my training is probably increasing faster than it should. But I have no choice now with the world championships three weeks away.”
Next year’s nationals in Windsor will be fully integrated and Filteau is delighted about it.
“It’s wonderful to be part of this event it gives us a lot of visibility,” said Filteau.
Carmen Douma-Hussar winning the women's 1500M - Photo: Steve Bower for RunnersWeb.com
Eighteen finals in total were contested on Saturday before a full house of 2,500 spectators on a gorgeous summer’s day at the Terry Fox Athletics Facility.
Other winners in men’s competition included Nicolas Macrozonaris of Laval, Que., in 100 clocking 10.31; Kwaku Boateng of Montreal in the high jump; Charles Allen of Brampton, Ont., in the 110 hurdles, Nathan Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., in the 1,500; and Jamie Adjetey-Nelson of Windsor, Ont., in the long jump.
Other winners in women’s competition included: B.C.’s Crystal Smith in the hammer throw; Krista Woodward of New Westminster, B.C., in the javelin, Esther Akinsulie of Ottawa in the 400 in a personal best 52.91, Genevieve Thibault of Quebec City in the 100 also in a 11.47 p.b., Carmen Douma-Hussar of Cambridge in the 1,500, Stephanie McCann of Surrey, B.C., in the pole vault.
Nathan Brannen winning the men's 1500M - Photo: Steve Bower for RunnersWeb.com
Competition ends Sunday.
Note: Canada’s 4X100 Olympic champion men’s relay team at the 1996 Olympics was honoured midway through Saturday’s competition. Carlton Chambers, Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey celebrated the 10th anniversary of one of Canada’s most memorable sporting moments.
Full results and information at Athletics.ca.
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