Shafiqua Maloney, who carried the flag for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won the women’s 800 metres Sunday in the annual Victoria Track Classic.
An appreciative gallery nearly filled the Centennial Stadium grandstand to watch Maloney and about 220 other athletes from 15 nations chase their dreams in the annual meet. At stake were qualifying times and distances to achieve for the 2023 world athletics championships next month in Budapest and points for 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying, the window for the latter which opened July 5.
“I tried to maintain my pace in coming on home to the finish line. You’ve got to push past the pain … hopefully [to the] worlds in Budapest,” said Maloney, the graduate of the NCAA Division 1 University of Arkansas Razorbacks, who was across in 2:02.44.
The worlds in Budapest are the immediate goal but it was not lost on any of the competitors that next week, July 26, will mark the one-year-out anniversary of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
Eric Holt from New Milford, sa国际传媒icut, followed his win in the Jerome Track Classic on Friday night in Langley by taking the featured Gary Reed men’s 800 metres two days later at Centennial Stadium in a blanket finish in 1:46.44.
“I didn’t even know Victoria existed,” said the 28-year-old, who trains with the Empire Elite Club in New York state.
“But I’m definitely glad I came out to sa国际传媒 for the first time since I was four years old. I will do whatever I can to get the Olympic qualifying standard.”
He talked about his tough year leading to his weekend breakthroughs in the Jerome and Victoria meets: “Some questioned my fitness. I could have gone home to pout, but I wanted to prove to myself what I am capable of.”
The Victoria Track Classic men’s 800 metres is named in honour of Island runner Gary Reed, who won silver at the 2007 world championships in Osaka and was fourth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
With the Canadian championships in two weeks at Langley, the Victoria meet served as a primer for runners such as defending national champion Nathan George of the Coquitlam Cheetahs Club, who won the men’s 400 metres Sunday in 46.40 at Centennial Stadium.
“I want to make the team to worlds in Budapest but it’s one day at a time and I’m just focusing on the next meets as they come,” said George.
“I can feel it happening.”
Canadian track and field is on the rise with six medals each at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Andre De Grasse [six-time Olympic medallist sprinter] and Aaron Brown [4x100 relay world champion and relay double Olympic medallist] are doing their thing to put us on the map,” said George.
The speedsters were also on track Sunday at Centennial with American Christopher Royster winning the men’s 100 metres in 10:33 and afterwards saying: “Thanks to the crowd. I love to see it.”
Leya Buchanan of Mississauga, Ont., 4x100 relay silver medallist at the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games, won the women’s 100 metres in 11.79.
Aaron Ahl of Calgary, who runs NCAA Division 1 in the Pac-12 with the University of Washington Huskies, pulled off the men’s 1,500 and 3,000 metres double in 3:40.88 and 8:05.04, respectively.
Rowan Hamilton of the Kajaks Club won the men’s hammer throw at 75.80 metres with Adam Keenan of Victoria second at 74.48 metres. Tripp Marcus of the U.S. took the men’s javelin with a throw of 67.33 metres, Cayden Arnold of Royal City the men’s pole vault at 3.90 metres and American Jalen Seals out of the NCAA Division 1 Texas Tech Red Raiders the men’s long jump at 8.02 metres.
The women’s field highlight was 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games champion Chioma Onyekwere of Nigeria winning the discus with a throw of 60.13 metres.
The Victoria Track Classic has been contested since 1988.
