The Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships take place this week from June 22-26 in the Township of Langley, British Columbia. Canada’s best athletes will be striving for personal bests and national titles over the five-day championship. A big focus for a lot of these athletes is qualifying for the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon later on this summer in July. That being said, here are some athletes to watch out for at this event.
Sarah Mitton, who recently broke the national record for women’s shot put, will look to dominate the field with a personal best throw of 19.58m. Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake, two of Canada’s top sprinters and both Olympians respectively, will surely make for an entertaining few days of 100m and 200m competition. Madeline Kelly and Lindsey Butterworth will go head to head in the 800m; Kelly with a personal best of 1:59:71 and Butterworth slightly ahead with a personal best of 1:59:19. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in a battle between two notable Canadians Olympians.
Additionally, Olorunfemi Akinduro, will be participating in the triple jump, he has a personal best jump of 15.84m. Coming in with the top seed, he will be pushed by Flying Angels club-mate Kenneth West, who comes in with the second-highest seeded jump of 15.50m. Staying with the men’s triple jump, competing in the men’s U20 field will be Praise Aniamaka. At 19-years of age, Aniamaka comes into the week with a seeded jump of 15.89m, the highest of both the U20 and senior men. Look for him to steal the show in the men’s triple jump this week, especially considering his age. Another member of the Flying Angels, Almond Small, who recently had an outstanding performance at the U20, Open, & Para Championships, will compete in both the U20 men’s 100m and 200m. Small comes into the week as the top seed for both events, looking to take his provincial sprinting dominance to the national level.
Canadian Olympian, Lucia Stafford will be competing in the women’s 1500m and enters the event with a seed time of 4:02:12. Look for the Toronto native to hit the podium in her signature event, however she will be pushed by Natalia Hawthorn, who comes in with the second-best seed time of 4:04.20. Both of these women seeded at least five-seconds faster than the rest of the field, meaning this will undoubtedly be a finish to watch between these two. The men’s 1500m, will feature top-seeded William Paulson, who has a personal best time of 3:33:97. He will be tested by 2016 Canadian Olympian, Charles Philbert-Thiboutot, who comes in seeded second with a time of 3:34.43 and a personal best of 3:34.23 in the 1500m.
Finally, Alysha Newman competing in the pole vault will be looking to beat her best jump of 4.75m. An athlete of interest here, as Newman has recently set her sights on competing in the heptathlon on the world stage. We’ll see how her training pays off as she will be competing against Canada’s best in the heptathlon this week. With all these outstanding athletes competing this weekend and many more, the 2022 Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships is an event not to be missed! Linked below is the live stream in which you will need a +Plus account to access. All the best to all athletes competing!
Live Stream Link: https://www.athleticscanada.tv/gprofile.php?do=videos&mgroup_event_id=3809&year=2022&mgroup_id=47401&video_id=331519
