Posted: April 10, 2007

Athletics: Canada announces Penn Relays team

April 10th 2007, OTTAWA – Athletics Canada announced today the national team that will compete at the 2007 Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 28, 2007.  Athletes will be competing in the men’s and women’s 4X100 and 4X400-metre relays as well as the men’s distance medley and women’s sprint medley relays.  The distance medley consists of the 1200, 400, 800 and 1600-metres.  The sprint medley is composed of 200, 200, 400, and 800-metre legs. Head Coach Les Gramantik will be looking for a good showing in order to qualify for this summer’s major competitions; “The Penn Relays represent the first step of preparation of the relay program in this pre-Olympic year. The meet will serve as the season opener for all of our relay teams and will give us the opportunity to qualify for the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and subsequently the IAAF World Championship in Osaka." Penn Relays team Name / Event Hometown Personal Coach Men’s 4x100m Relay Anson Henry Pickering, ON Dan Pfaff Shannon King Brampton, ON Desai Williams Justin McLennan Mississauga, ON Desai Williams Emanuel Parris Montréal, QC Richard Crevier Neville Wright Edmonton, AB Quin Sekulich Women’s 4x100m Relay Erica Broomfield Scarborough, ON Desai Williams Kimberley Hyacinthe Lachenaie, QC Daniel St-Hilaire Priscilla Lopes Whitby, ON Anthony McCleary Teneshia Peart Calgary, AB John Cannon Geneviève Thibault Val Bélair, QC Fabrice Akué Men’s 4x400m Relay Brian Barnett Edmonton, AB Quin Sekulich Tyler Christopher Edmonton, AB Kevin Tyler Andrew Dargie Calgary, AB John Cannon Adam Kunkel Edmonton, AB Kevin Tyler Keston Nelson Edmonton, AB Derek Evely Women’s 4x400m Relay Esther Akinsulie Ottawa, ON Hugh Conlin Martine Cloutier-Leblanc Montréal, QC Jérome Favérial Carline Muir Edmonton, AB Kevin Tyler Adrienne Power Halifax, NS Peter Lord Lauren Seibel Vancouver, BC Richard Hillson Men’s Distance Medley Relay Nate Brannen – 1200m Cambridge, ON Ron Warhurst Geoff Harris – 800m Halifax, NS Dan Hennigar Kevin Sullivan – 1600m Brantford, ON Julie Henner *1 other to be named Women’s Sprint Medley Relay Holly Ratzlaff – 800m Calgary, AB Christine Laverty / Jason Lindsay *3 others to be named Staff Glenroy Gilbert (4X100m) Ottawa, ON Derek Evely (4X400m) Edmonton, AB Wilbour Kelsick (Medical) Port Moody, BC *The additional spots will be filled by athletes running in the 4X100-metre or 4X400-metre races. Two relay camps are being held in preparation for the Penn Relays and the upcoming season.  Led by Olympic gold medalist Glenroy Gilbert, a 4x100-metre camp attended by the men’s and women’s teams will be held in Ottawa April 22-26.  “The pre-Penn Relay Camp in Ottawa will provide an important opportunity for our athletes to work together again, and make our decisions on position suitability before heading to the Penn Relays.” said Glenroy Gilbert.  Gilbert adds that this summer’s major competitions will play an important role for the 2008 Olympic Games; “These will be major meets for all of our athletes, and in particular those in the relay program.  Securing relay spots for next year's Olympic Games in Beijing will require that our relay teams have exceptional performances in these two (Pan American Games and Worlds) major meets.” The 4x400 camp which began on April 4 in Florida, is led by Derek Evely, and will lead into Penn Relays.  Evely on the importance of the camp; “This camp is critical to the success of the relay program for 2007 and Beijing qualification. Our immediate goal is qualification for the Pan Am Games and World Championships. If we achieve these objectives we feel the team will be in a strong position to not only qualify but also be a contender at the Olympics next year - this is our ultimate goal. The team is stronger than it has ever been and we are very proud of the commitment towards the program these athletes have made.” Both Gilbert and Evely agree that; “Our ongoing objective is to re-establish Canada’s dominance in the relays. In order to accomplish this we will have to continue building on successes such as the men's 4x100m bronze at last year's Commonwealth Games.”