Report from Robin
Hello everyone!
I would like to congratulate all of the athletes – Nicole, Alex Saizew, Ellen, Nicky, Adrianne, Hannah, Ryan, Drew, Sam Babcock, Sam Kean, Alex Smith, Alex Bymoenand Thomas – who attended the provincial Legion track and field camp this past week. I am of the impression that all of them enjoyed themselves and found it to be a very worthwhile experience. Among them, these thirteen athletes established a new provincial record, won 5 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 3 bronze medals, and achieved 8 personal best performances. Three athletes – Sam Babcock, Ryan and Nicky – were named to Team Alberta and will fly to Sherbrooke, Quebec next month to represent Alberta at the national competition. Alex Smith was selected as one of two alternates to the team and will travel to Quebec if a team member is injured or ill. Well done athletes!
Ryan had an outstanding week, setting a new provincial record and winning 4 medals – 1 gold and three silvers. In his first triple jump competition and with no training in the event, Ryan won the gold medal and established a provincial record with a jump of 12.57m, beating the record of 12.13m that had been established in 2003. In winning the event, Ryan also beat the standard of 11.23m required for the national competition. Ryan earned his three silver medals in the 100m, 200m and long jump. In long jump, a personal best jump of 5.87m beat the standard of 5.79m required for Legion Nationals and earned Ryan the silver medal. In the 100m preliminary, his time of 11.51s beat the Legion standard of 11.61s and earned Ryan a place in the final, where he finished 2nd. In the 200m, Ryan’s time of 23.09s beat the standard required for Nationals and earned him another silver medal. Ryan will compete in the 100m, 200m and triple jump at Nationals! Well done Ryan!
Sam Babcock also had a great week, beating a provincial record and winning 4 medals – 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Sam won the high jump competition with a season best jump of 1.83m, easily beating the standard of 1.73m required for the national competition. Sam also won the long jump competition with a personal best jump of 6.04m, again easily beating the standard of 5.79m required to compete in Quebec. Sam was also 2nd in the triple jump competition, jumping 12.29m, beating the provincial record of 12.13m and beating the standard of 11.23m required to compete at the national competition. Sam also won the bronze medal in the 100m and was 4th in the 200m with a time of 23.60s, where he beat the standard required for Nationals. Sam will compete in the long jump, triple jump and high jump at Nationals. Well done Sam!
Nicky earned herself a place on Team Alberta by finishing 1st with standard in the high jump. Nicky cleared 1.54m to win the competition and the gold medal. Nicky also met the standard required for Nationals in the 80m hurdles, where her time of 12.88s earned her the bronze medal. In the long jump, a season best jump of 4.90m earned her a 5th place finish. Nicky will compete in the high jump, long jump and 80m hurdles at Nationals. Well done Nicky! An outstanding accomplishment for a first-year midget!
Alex Smith won the silver medal in both the sprint and intermediate hurdles, achieving the standard required for Nationals in both events. Unfortunately, those outstanding results were not enough to guarantee Alex a spot on Team Alberta. Alex has been named as an alternate and we hope that he will travel to Quebec with the team. In the 100m hurdles, Alex finished in 14.97s, beating the standard of 15.25s required to compete at Nationals and winning the silver medal. In the 300m hurdles, his time of 41.73s beat the standard of 43.87s and earned Alex the silver medal.
Alex Bymoen once again kept the pressure on the first-year midgets. Alex won the gold medal in the javelin competition with a personal best throw of 42.41m, a PB of 6.58m. Unfortunately his throw was shy of the standard required for Nationals. Alex was also 4th of 20 athletes in the 100m and 4th of 11 athletes in the shot put. Well done Alex! Outstanding results for a first-year midget!
Adrianne competed for the first time this week since early June, when she was knocked off her bicycle by a vehicle and suffered a concussion. Despite nausea and dizziness, Adrianne still managed to win the bronze medal in the 300m hurdles, an outstanding accomplishment at any time for a first-year midget, but particularly considering the missed training and challenging circumstances. Adrianne also braved the 1500m, where her time of 5:24.13s earned her a 5th place finish. Well doneAdrianne! A very gutsy performance!
Hannah once again did what she has been doing all year, achieving personal best performances in several of her events. In the 3000m, Hannah took more than 10 seconds off her PB, finishing in 11:54.32s to place 5th. In the 400m, a personal best performance of 1:05.12s earned Hannah an 8th place finish. In the triple jump, Hannahadded another 37cm to her PB, jumping 8.65m to finish 7th. Hannah was also 6th in the 800m and 5th in her first attempt at the 2000m steeplechase. Well done Hannah!
Alex Saizew also had a great competition, achieving personal best performances in two of her three events. In the 400m, Alex took more than a second off her PB, finishing 7th in 1:05.41s. In the long jump, Alex added another 6cm to her PB, jumping 4.25m to finish 11th.
Not to be outdone by his sister, Thomas ran an outstanding 400m, taking more than 3 seconds off his PB, finishing in 1:19.70s. Sam Kean ran a PB in the 200m, improving his time to 27.86s. Despite a painful stress fracture in her ankle, Ellen still managed to finish the 800m and 1500m. Look after that ankle, Ellen! First-year midgets Drewand Nicole also attended the camp and the experience from this year should benefit them if they decide to attend the camp again next year.
Well done athletes! Best of luck at Legion Nationals Ryan, Sam and Nicky! Have fun in Quebec with your Team Alberta teammates!
