Story and pictures by Stephen J. Thorne
The 44th Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships took place in Sherbrooke, Que., in August after a two-year, pandemic-imposed hiatus. Some 52 clubs and 690 teenaged athletes competed for 248 medals over three days of events. More than 250 participants were sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. This is the second of a two-part photo essay on the event.
Triple jumper Gabe Ing was one of six Legion athletes to attend the championships from Prince Edward Island. Ing finished ninth among 16 triple-jump participants with a 12.69.
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Headed for the pole vault.
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Family newshounds collect intel and report back to the home front.
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Arwin Mathi of Scarborough, Ont., United Tamil Sports Club leaped 14.16 metres to clinch bronze in the under-18 men’s triple jump. The club finished 10th in the medal standings, with four gold and two bronze.
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Grace Wong of BC/Yukon defeated Paige Joncas of Baie-Comeau, Que., to take gold in the under-18 women’s racewalk.
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Naomie Fequet of Club d’athlétisme de Baie-Comeau, Que., and Jordyn French of Bolton Pole Vault in Ontario finished 1-2 respectively in the under-16 women’s racewalk.
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Gold medallist Amelia Kristen of BC/Yukon (right) celebrates with silver medallist Lacie Simmons of B.C.’s Comox Valley Cougars after the under-18 women’s 100m hurdles final.
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Daiquan Monteith of Flying Angels Academy survived an awkward landing to take silver in the under-18 men’s triple jump.
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Jennessa Wolfe of Nova Scotia/Nunavut defeated Arianne Birch, an independent from Ontario, in a jump-off to win gold in the under-18 women’s highjump.
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The parental press at work.
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The aftermath of the under-18 women’s 1500m.
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Zoe Mosher of Nova Scotia/Nunavut won gold in the under-16 women’s 2000 metres, clocking a 6:27.82 in 30 C degree-plus heat.
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An exhausted gold medallist Kaden Kingsmith of Alberta-NWT is congratulated by fourth place finisher Lj Nelson of Durham Drago following a heat-saturated under-18 men’s 1500m.
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With the heat index in the 40s, Matteo Padoin-Castillo of the Ottawa Lions collapsed in the last 200 metres of the 2500m under-18 men’s steeplechase.
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The boys take a dip along the steeplechase course during a hot Saturday at the 44th Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que. Temperatures reached the mid-30s, with the heat index into the 40s.
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Donovan Gagnon of Quebec won the under-18 men’s 400m hurdles in 55.36s.
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Under-16 women’s 800m race winner Raiya Matonovich of British Columbia/Yukon launches from the start line alongside Anna Douma of the Waterloo, Ont.-based Laurel Creek Track Club and Quinn Coughlin of the Ottawa Lions.
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Maxime-Antoine Vallee won Drummondville TFC’s only gold medal of the competition, clearing 4.20 metres in the under-18 men’s pole vault.
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Maxime-Antoine Vallee of Drummondville (left) and Eliot Tremblay of Quebec exchange congratulations after finishing 1-2 respectively in the under-18 men’s pole vault.
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An exhausted Pishon Haughton of BC/Yukon gets a helping hand after anchoring his team to victory in the under-18 men’s 4x400m.
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Kaden Kingsmith and Jett Hasiuk of Alberta-NWT check their times after finishing second in the under-18 men’s 4x400m relay.
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Jake McEacheran of Alberta-NWT won gold in both the shot put and the discus, earning him the Jack Stenhouse Award as the top Legion male athlete of the competition.
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Noah Louwerse of BC/Yukon won the under-16 men’s 800m in a time of 1:59.97. He also anchored the gold medal-winning 1600m sprint medley team.
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Quebec anchor Nikita Gauvin-Jonckeau takes the baton from Sofia Agudelo to bring it home for gold in the under-16 women’s 4x100m. A three-time gold-medallist, Agudelo won the Leroy Washburn Award as the top Legion female athlete of the competition.
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Under-18 women’s 800m silver medallist Mandeep Sangha of Alberta-NWT reaches out to embrace winner Kyla Martin of Ontario’s South Simcoe Dufferin Track and Field Club at the finish line. Martin ran a 2:10.41 to Sangha’s 2:11.38.
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Day 2 was a hot one at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que., with the heat index approaching the mid-40s.
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Jenae Francis of Project Athletics Track and Field Program in Markham, Ont., powers up for another throw in the under-16 women’s shot put.
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Independent Ontario athlete Erik Unger mentally prepares for the under-18 men’s 800m race. He finished sixth.
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An exhausted silver medallist Lucas Ewert of Manitoba-NWO congratulates winning anchor Noah Louwerse of BC/Yukon after the under-16 men’s 1600m sprint medley while bronze medallist Thomas Cote of Quebec waits his turn.
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Jenna Tunks of London Western TFC took gold in the under-16 women’s shot put and discus.
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Sofia Agudelo of Quebec was awarded the Leroy Washburn Award as the top female Legion athlete at the 2022 Legion National Track and Field Championships after taking gold in the under-16 women’s 80m hurdles, 200m hurdles and the 4x100m relay.
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Dianna Proctor of Alberta/NWT, winner of the women’s under-18 200m, embraces bronze medallist Raenne Jones of Flying Angels Academy at the finish line.
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Amlia Kristen of BC/Yukon took the under-18 women’s 100m hurdles in the 14.52s.
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Marty Bajarunas of BC/Yukon threw 55.79m to take silver in the under-18 men’s javelin.
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Mikaella Martin of Quebec ran away with the under-16 women’s 1500m steeplechase by almost 20 seconds, in 5:07.25.
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Under-18 girls run the 1500m.
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Medico at work.
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Passing through the water hazard 200 metres from the tape, Mackenzie Hack of BC/Yukon, Louise Stonham of Ottawa Lions TFC and Ella Madsen of the Coquitlam, B.C., Cheetahs Track and Field Club finished 2-3-4 in the under-18 women’s 2000m steeplechase.
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Mackenzie Hack of BC/Yukon took silver in the under-18 women’s 2000m steeplechase with a time of 7:00.03.
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Yemane Mulugeta of BC/Yukon won the under-18 men’s 2000m steeplechase in 5:57.03, almost 6.5 seconds ahead of silver medallist Francis Bouffard of Quebec.
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Multiple gold-medallist Sorcha Shiu anchored the Alberta-NWT team to victory in the under-18 women’s 4x400m relay on the final day of competition at the 44th Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, held in Sherbrooke, Que. Shiu also took gold in the 2000m steeplechase and the 400m, as well as a bronze in the 400m hurdles.
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Asia Phillips of the GTA’s Flying Angels Academy won the under-18 women’s long jump with a 5.74m leap and the triple jump (pictured) with a 12.57.
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Double gold-medallist Asia Phillips of Flying Angels Academy celebratres after winning the under-18 women’s long jump. She also took the triple jump.
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Pishon Haughton takes the pass from Hayden Hall and anchors BC/Yukon to victory in the under-18 men’s 4x400m.
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Silver medallist Eliot Tremblay of Quebec gets encouragement from his teammates before his final attempt in the under-18 men’s high jump.
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Silver medallist Eliot Tremblay of Quebec (right) congratulates Levi Tuura of BC/Yukon after Tuura took the under-18 men’s high jump.
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Derek Jobin of Club d’athlétisme Lavironde de Montmagny, Que., was the one and only participant in the under-16 men’s 1500m racewalk. He won gold.
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Maella Hodgson of BC/Yukon reacts as she crosses the finish line for the win in the under-18 women’s 1500m. She clocked a meet record 4:23.00.
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Pentathaletes compete in the shot put on Day 1 of the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships.
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Quebec Past-President Norm Shelton (left) presented Kelly Smith with the President’s Award for his decades of “selfless service” in support of the Legion National Track and Field Championships.
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See here 100 Pictures of the 44th Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships: Part 1
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