Lily Stroda of B.C./Yukon defended her Nationals U-18 heptathlon title in dominant style, breaking fellow-B.C.er Niki Oudenaarden’s 10-year-old national record with 5,573 points. Stroda won the LeRoy Washburn Award as the championships’ top female Legion athlete. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
The 47th Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships proved memorable, producing a pair of national record-breakers in heptathlete Lily Stroda from British Columbia/Yukon and sprinter Dennis Iriowen of Ontario.
Confronting a variety of weather in Calgary, from cold and wet to hot and dry, Stroda turned in a dominating performance in the seven-event heptathlon. As she set out to defend her 2024 title, she swept all four events on the first day of competition and went on to break a 10-year-old record set by fellow-British Columbian Niki Oudenaarden.
Her 5,573 points were almost 1,000 ahead of her closest opponent. The spellbinding effort earned Stroda the LeRoy Washburn Award as the championships’ top female Legion athlete.
Dennis Iriowen of Ontario celebrates a gold medal-winning 10.35 in the U-18 men’s 100m with T.J. Boussombo of Alberta-N.W.T. Iriowen set a national record of 20.84s in the U-18 men’s 200m and received the Jack Stenhouse Award as top male Legion athlete of the championships. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Iriowen set a national record of 20.84s in the U-18 men’s 200m and won the signature sprint, the 100m, with a time of 10.35. He received the Jack Stenhouse Award as top male Legion athlete of the championships.
A record 1,001 athletes, 331 of them Legion-sponsored, competed at the 2025 Nationals in Foothills Athletic Park next to McMahon Stadium, home of the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.
Thirty-six Legion coaches and 119 registered open coaches guided their charges through 88 medal events. Dozens of volunteers and officials kept things moving efficiently along, in spite of a rainy and cold first day of competition (it started out at 11 C).
Ciara Faith McKenzie of B.C./Yukon threw a 44.11 for gold in the U-18 women’s discus. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Over the years, the Nationals have become an incubator for Olympic athletes, most recently in Paris, where 28 event alumni wore Canadian red and white, including bronze-medal pole vaulter Alysha Newman of London, Ont., and golden hammer throwers Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers, both B.C. natives.
For the Legion athletes, the adventure comes with added bonus. Each event marks a time in military history—this year, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.
And there is Mike Trauner, who lost his legs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. He told his inspiring story to a rapt audience while wife Leah, a lioness who couldn’t make the trip this year, described in a letter to the Legion athletes what life is like for a military spouse.
“Before he ever leaves, he tells you what to do, who to contact if he doesn’t come home,” she wrote. “You miss him at events, you miss the sound of his voice and the touch of his hands. You pray, day and night, every second of every minute that he will come home to you.
“When he finally comes home, you accept the nightmares, the outbursts. You accept that he may never be exactly the same person that he was before. You agree to be the glue that holds him together. . . .”
Here are the first 50 pictures from the 2025 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships.
Émile Marin of Quebec runs away with the U-18 men’s 3,000m, clocking an 8:50.19, almost 1.5s ahead of his nearest opponent. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
A track official summons runners to their positions in the cold and rain of Day 1 at the 2025 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Calgary. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Competing in her last-ever event at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, anchor Jurnee Scott of Ontario takes the baton from teammate Madison Gravelle and clinches the silver medal in the U-18 women’s 4x100m. The Ontario team, rounded out by lead Kaitlyn Gravelle and second Reagan Lovell, ran the race in 46.91s, just behind Speed Academy’s 46.79. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Avionne Dean (right) and B.C./Yukon teammate Jaylah Dennis celebrate a 1-2 finish in the U-16 women’s 100m with fifth place Ellie Walton of Coquitlam, B.C., Cheetahs. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
James Rideout of BC Athletics in Burnaby leapt 6.98 metres to take bronze in the U-18 men’s long jump. Taylor Demone of Nova Scotia-Nunavut won the event with a jump of 7.10m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Olivia Downey of Durham Dragons Athletics in Oshawa, Ont., won the U-18 women’s 2,000m steeplechase, clocking a 7:11.77 on a hot afternoon in Calgary. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
U-16 women’s high jump champ Jaylah Dennis dons the latest in fashionable sporting footwear en route to a meet record 1.87 metres. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Robin Allard of Athlétisme Québec brings it home with a 1:57.14 in the U-16 men’s 800m. It was his third gold of the championships following wins in the 1,200m and 2,000m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
It’s tight now but Aiden Clodd of Ontario would go on to take the U-18 men’s 2,000m steeplechase in 6:01.63, 8s ahead of his nearest rival, Samuel Skilnick of Alberta-N.W.T. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
In the U-18 women’s 800m, it was gold for Mary MacLean of Leduc, Que., Track Club (2:07.47), silver for Maya Markowska of Ontario (2:07.48), and bronze for Hannah Gates of Excel Athletika TFC in Regina (2:07.86). [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Sarah Wallace of Nova Scotia/Nunavut is all smiles after her sectional U-18 women’s 800m race. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Gabrielle Armstrong of Bolton, Ont., gets a little encouragement en route to a silver medal finish in the U-18 women’s pole vault, clearing 3.55 metres. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Cool as a cucumber, Luis Corredor Reyes of Thorold, Ont., Elite Track Club clocked a 22.22 to take gold in the U-16 men’s 200m. Corredor Reyes also took bronze in the 100m and ran second in his club’s gold medal-winning 4x100m relay and bronze medal-winning 1,600m sprint medley. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
The good sis. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Amy Woods of Kamloops, B.C., TFC competed in the U-18 women’s pole vault. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Matthew Fandrich of Langley, B.C., Mustangs track club took the U-16 men’s 1,500m steeplechase in 4:39.87. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Lily Ryan of Eclipse Track & Field Club in Oshawa, Ont. and Maeve Agres of Etobicoke, Ont., Huskies-Striders TFC finished 1-2 in the U-16 women’s 800m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Ryan Georgeson of Ontario basks in the glory of victory in the U-18 men’s 800m. He took the race in 1:52.05, more than a second ahead of second-place Zach Taylor of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Laurel Creek TFC. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Jullianna Corbin of Alberta-N.W.T. won the U-18 women’s 200m, then collapsed in the heat of an Alberta afternoon after crossing the finish line. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Photo editor. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Heptathlete Marley Eisner of Nova Scotia/Nunavut watches closely as officials measure her leap in the long jump. She placed 8th out of 17 competitors. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Runners await the start of the U-16 women’s medley at the 2025 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Calgary. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Maxime Cazabon of Ottawa Lions TFC cleared 1.96 metres to take the U-18 men’s high jump in a walk. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Flying Angels anchor Noah Horspool is in full stride as he takes the final pass from Kula Nembhard Jr. in the U-18 men’s 4x100m en route to a gold medal to go with two silvers (100m and 200m). Lead Eamon Sheppard and second Jahleel Haley opened for the winning foursome. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Looking to get ahead, Adam Esleyer of Nanaimo, B.C., Track and Field Club readies himself for the U-18 men’s 400m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Kamsiyochi Boghean of Calgary Spartans Track and Field heads toward bronze in the U-18 women’s 400m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Heptathalete Aryanna Jones from Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario is the picture of style and grace in the javelin. [Stephen J. Thorne]
Afghanistan veteran Mike Trauner continued to serve as the championships’ honorary ambassador, even on a cold, rain-soaked Calgary day. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
It was 1-2 Ontario as Christian Futo cleared 4.80m to teammate Ben Leveck’s 4.60 in U-18 men’s pole vault. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Elizabeth Tannis blazed to a 11.62 in the U-18 women’s 100m, taking the gold by just 5/100s. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Yusuff Ajibola Yusuff of Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario and Eamon Sheppard of Flying Angels Track Club in Toronto celebrate a 1-2 finish in their U-18 100m sectional final. Both finished out of the medals. [Stephen J. Thorne]
Thomas-Daniel Tent of Border City Athletics Club in Windsor, Ont., finished the U-18 men’s 110m hurdles just .12s out of the medals after an encounter with the final gate. Jerome Nicholson of Ontario won the race in 13.80s. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Fans watch intently as U-16 pole vault champion Mark Baginskiy of Ontario prepares for another attempt. He won, clearing 3.9m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Jahleel Haley of Flying Angels Track Club in Toronto ran a strong heat and finished just out of the medals in the U-18 men’s 100m. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Hannah Gregory of Alberta-N.W.T. (right) hung back until she made a late push to take the U-16 women’s 1,200m race in 3:39.72. Zoe Joanette of Quebec took second in 3:40.54, while Clara Simpson of B.C./Yukon came in third at 3:41.54. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Reed Passmore of Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario was pleased to take the U-16 men’s 100m hurdles in 13.54s. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Amber Spray, an unattached athlete from Saskatchewan, took bronze in the U-18 women’s javelin with a throw of 39.22 metres. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
A volunteer leads athletes to their next event. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Anchor Addison McGirr of Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario takes the handoff from Elise Lobendahn en route to a fourth place finish in the U-16 women’s 4x100m relay. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
With the tiger’s eye, Hayden Jalbert of Saskatoon TFC ran a 13.54 to take the U-16 men’s 100m hurdles. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
The joy of running. Emma Pauls of Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario won her section in the U-18 women’s 800m, but finished out of the medals. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Jack Schoenfelder of B.C./Yukon won the U-16 men’s javelin with a 52.23m heave. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
The measure of the man. A track official sets the bar in the U-16 men’s high jump. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Abigail Kinch of Newmarket,. Ont. Huskies Track Club took a spill on the last lap of the 2000m U-18 women’s steeplechase and still held her bronze-medal position through the final 150 metres. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Recovery time. [Stephen J. Thorne]
U-18 decathletes recover in the dying seconds of the 1,500m, the final event of the discipline. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
Lily Stroda of B.C./Yukon. National record holder in the U-18 women’s heptathalon with 5,573 points. Recipient of the LeRoy Washburn Award as top female Legion athlete. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]
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