Moncton – The 2013 Canadian Track and Field Championship officially got underway today in Moncton, N.B., with the help of a few notable athletes from the more than 600 who will compete June 20-23 at Stade Moncton Stadium. Derek Drouin of Corunna, Ont., Julie Labonté of Sainte-Justine, Que., Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., and Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., were all on hand at Capitol Theatre in downtown Moncton, N.B., to officially launch the competition.
Derek Drouin won bronze at the London Games in the high jump; he recently took first at the NCAA Division I Championships and is a newly minted Canadian record holder with a jump of 2.36-metres. Julie Labonté competed in the shot put at the 2012 Olympic Games. At the 2013 NCAA Division I Championships she was a finalist in both the shot and discus throw, finishing second in the discus. Diane Roy is a multiple medalist from the Paralympic Games. At the 2012 edition of the Games she finished fourth in the T54 classification wheelchair 400-metres. Roy also qualified for and competed at the 2012 Paralympic Games in the 800-metres, 1500-metres, 5000-metres and marathon. Jessica Zelinka finished seventh at the 2012 Olympic Games in both the heptathlon and 100-metre hurdles. This season she is taking a break from the heptathlon and is concentrating on the hurdles.
Overall the event hosts 600 athletes from ten provinces, 38 are Olympians and 19 are Canadian record holders. In total there are 815 entries; 624 in athletics and 191 in para-athletics.
Championship serves as Selection Trials
The championship serves as the selection trials for the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Championships, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships and Jeux de la Francophonie. Athletes aiming to represent Canada at the IAAF or IPC World Championships need to place in the top three in order to be eligible for selection.
IAAF World Championship athlete tracking
IPC World Championship athlete tracking
Entire event available LIVE streaming by Bell Aliant, presented by TIMEX
Athletics Canada and Bell Aliant have partnered to offer the most complete live coverage in the history of the Canadian Track and Field Championships. The live stream, presented by TIMEX, will include all championship events, including special off-site events such as Shot in the Dark and the downtown race walk competition, through a unique video player which allows viewers to jump from one event to the other. Six cameras will enable viewers to choose between field events, track events or the Bell Aliant Community One interview feed. Two-time Olympian Perdita Felicien will provide colour commentary on the main track feed.
This evening Athletics Canada’s Hall of Fame Class of 2013 will officially be inducted alongside Athletics Canada’s 2012 Annual Award Winners. The ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Delta Beauséjour. The class of 2013 includes Mark Boswell, Earl Church, Jerome Drayton, Phil Edwards, Ian Fowler, Diane Jones Konihowski, Lloyd Percival, Chantal Petitclerc, Eugene Reimer and Michael Smith in the athlete, builder, coach and in memoriam categories.
For a complete event schedule, live results, ticket information and all other championship info visit www.moncton2013.com.
-AC-
Emily Hooper
Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
Athletics Canada
(613) 260-5580 x.3332