Moscow – Nate Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., qualified for the men’s 1500-metre semi-finals today at the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship. Brannen raced to a time of 3:38.49 to finish second in heat three and advance to Friday’s semi-finals.
Brannen, “It was much easier then I expected, I got close to the front and covered the moves, that was the plan. After last year, falling at the Olympics, I just wanted to stay out of trouble, got out well, stayed with the front.” He comments on the team’s early success, “Two medals early in the championship has been great for team morale, it keeps everybody hungry for more and shows that Canada is capable of not only competing with the best in the world but of also winning medals.”
In the men’s 50-kilometre race walk final Evan Dunfee of Richmond, B.C., finished 36th in a personal best time of 3:59:28; entering the championship Evan was ranked 59th overall. “I was expecting to be a little faster and move up a couple more places. I would have loved to have been 10 spots higher but I am going to take this and move forward.” Dunfee adds; “I was relaxed and feeling good coming into this. I will look at both positives and negatives and see what I need to do next year to put it all together.”
Sultana Frizell of Perth, Ont., was seventh in the women’s hammer throw Group A qualification with a best throw of 69.06-metres, she did not qualify for the final. “I’m very happy that I went out today and did the best that I could. Obviously I didn’t execute quite as I would have liked to. I have come a long way to where I was in October (2012), I’m happy to even just be at the World Championship.”
Drouin, Genest and Hughes in finals tomorrow
Tomorrow will see a trio of Canadians compete in finals. Derek Drouin of Corunna, Ont., will attempt to repeat his podium performance from the 2012 Olympic Games in the men’s high jump final at 11:00 a.m. eastern time.
Alex Genest of Lac-aux-Sables, Que., and Matthew Hughes of Oshawa, Ont., race in the men’s 3000-metres steeplechase final at 11:45 a.m. eastern time. Canada has never fielded two steeplechase finalists at the World Championships, the last time any Canadian took part in a final was at the 1991 edition in Tokyo where Graeme Fell finished 14th.
Canadians in action on Day 6
| Name | Hometown | Event | Local time | Eastern time |
| Karine Belleau-Béliveau | Montreal, QC | 800m – Heats | 9:55 a.m. | 1:55 a.m. |
| Melissa Bishop | Eganville, ON | 800m – Heats | 9:55 a.m. | 1:55 a.m. |
| Dylan Armstrong | Kamloops, BC | Shot put – Qualification | 10:20 a.m. | 2:20 a.m. |
| Tim Nedow | Brockville, ON | Shot put – Qualification | 10:20 a.m. | 2:20 a.m. |
| Crystal Emmanuel | York, ON | 200m – Heats | 10:55 a.m. | 2:55 a.m. |
| Kimberly Hyacinthe | Lachenaie, QC | 200m – Heats | 10:55 a.m. | 2:55 a.m. |
| Derek Drouin | Corunna, ON | High jump – FINAL | 7:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. |
| Alex Genest | Lac-aux-Sables, QC | 3000m SC – FINAL | 7:45 p.m. | 11:45 a.m. |
| Matthew Hughes | Oshawa, ON | 3000m SC – FINAL | 7:45 p.m. | 11:45 a.m. |
-AC-
For more information:
Emily Hooper
Athletics Canada
613 260 5580 ext. 3332
