Naveen Sharma of Etobicoke Track and Field Club fights through the water jump in the under-18 men’s 2,000-metre steeplechase.

They’re a quirky bunch, those shot putters. And they know it.

They spend their days heaving a five-kilogram cast-iron ball as far as they can propel it, grunting and yelling as they contort their chalk-stained faces in grotesque expressions of effort.

The competition is fierce, but the camaraderie is undeniably heartwarming. It is a uniquely individual sport in which each competitor supports his rivals with equal enthusiasm. By nature, it tends to attract athletes who walk to the beat of a different drummer.

Faces of competition in the under-18 men’s shot put.

“I just fell in love with it,” said Lucas Woodhall of Team Ontario, who at age 16 took the under-18 men’s title at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships held Aug. 8-14 in Brandon, Man.

Woodhall’s throw of 19.34 metres was just one centimetre short of his personal best but almost two metres longer than his nearest rival.

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like a drive to do better for yourself,” he said, “and I love the feeling of throwing far.”

Woodhall quit football to focus his sporting attention solely on the shot put. The tight group competes on a regular basis at 20 to 25 meets annually, but the nationals are a highlight on their calendars.

“It’s unique. It’s a very technical sport. We’re all here for the same thing, so we just get along really well. I’ve made friendships I think will last forever.”

So it was across the board in Brandon, where for the second straight year the city hosted the 87-event meet, this year attracting 650 athletes, 317 of them sponsored by local Legion branches in all provinces and territories and 333 from clubs across the country.

Hallee Knelson of St. Thomas Legion Track and Field Club in London, Ont., took bronze in the under-16 women’s 800 metres. [Stephen J. thorne]

Brandon Branch vice-president Barb Andrew was the Local Arrangements Committee chair. She began working on the Legion’s 41st and 42nd nationals four years ago, bolstered by the city’s $1-million-plus investment in renovations to its 20-year-old Canada Games facility.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s really been enjoyable,” said Andrew. “And it’s a wonderful legacy these games are giving to the city of Brandon.”

It took Andrew a year to assemble a strong team of committee chairs—26 committed volunteers in charge of details such as transportation, recruitment, fundraising, registration, food and technical support.

In all, some 250 volunteers worked the meet last year, around 200 this year. Community businesses, including Canadian Forces Base Shilo and local media, city technical staff and two car dealerships—Ford and Chevrolet—were involved.

The nationals represent the Legion’s biggest single event expenditure each year, funded largely by local branch contributions and reinforced by what outgoing national sports chair Angus Stanfield points out is the most prestigious national-level compe-tition for under-18 youth in the country. It’s also one of the RCL’s most visible efforts outside of the veterans’ community.

“The parents and the kids alike have to go away thinking, this is a wonderful organization,” said Andrew, citing, too, the educational elements of the event which last year marked the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge and this year commemorated the 1918 armistice ending the First World War.

Jalon Rose of Mississauga Olympians Track and Field Club receives a conciliatory hug from twin brother Jadon (top) after finishing second to him the under-18 men’s 100 metres. [Stephen J. Thorne]

The nationals’ roots can be traced to early Legion efforts to coach and mentor young athletes who had lost parents to war. The event itself has hosted an impressive list of future Olympians, including Charmaine Crooks, Angela Bailey and Glenroy Gilbert.

Out on the track and on the field, the August heat hit 40°C on both the Saturday and Sunday. That didn’t stop Maggie Smith, a distance runner from Halifax who led wire-to-wire and recorded personal bests in running the under-18 women’s 1,500 and 3,000 metres.

“I’ve been running forever,” said Smith, 17, attending her second, and last, nationals. “I was running 5Ks with my dad when I was little and when I was in Grade 8 I joined my club. I definitely want to run in university and, hopefully, further than that.

“It’s fun to push your limits and test yourself every single time in practice, in the races and also, even though it’s an individual sport, there’s a team aspect to it—to cheer on your teammates and be there when they need it is really fun.”

The longer distances, especially, are tactical races requiring a game plan going in. Strategy changes with the field, the venue and the conditions. Her coach left it up to her how she’d approach the Brandon races, where heat was the greatest factor.

“I really wanted two PBs (personal bests) but also you just have to keep your body in check, so around halfway through both races I made the call as to how I was feeling based on the heat and stuff, if I was going to go for it and both times I did.

“It went well.”

Maggie Smith of Nova Scotia cleaned up in the under-18 women’s distance events, leading wire-to-wire as she took the 1,500 metres in 4:25.11 and the 3,000 in 9:36.32, both personal bests. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Quebec’s Chloe Royce, 17, won five of seven events to take the under-18 women’s heptathlon with 4,909 points, more than 600 points over her nearest competitor.

She won the under-16 pentathlon two years ago with an event-record 3,404 points and finished third in her first under-18 event last year.

Royce was the fastest player on her soccer team, so she took up track. She participated in so many events that she decided the two-day heptathlon would be a simpler option.

“I just really like the diversity” of the heptathlon, she said, adding that the heat and humidity of a July event in Ottawa helped prepare her for Brandon. “I want to do it as long as I can. Of course, I would love to do the Olympics and if it comes, it does, and if it does not, it does not. I want to keep doing the sport because I love it.”

She said she would miss the Legion nationals after four competitions, including the camaraderie of hanging out in the dorms with athletes from across the country. “It’s a really good event and I’m really sad that I won’t be able to come back next year.”

There were other outstanding performances. Savannah Sutherland of Saskatchewan dominated her under-16 events, winning the Leroy Washburn Award as top female athlete after taking gold in the 300 metres, the 80-metre hurdles and the 200-metre hurdles.

Legion Athletes from all provinces and territories pause for a picture wth the RCL’s Dominion sports chairman, Angus Stanfield, prior to the start of the 2018 National Youth Track and Field Championships. [Stephen J. Thorne]

Emanuel Désilets of Quebec won the under-16 men’s 100-metre hurdles and the pentathlon to earn the Jack Stenhouse Award as top male athlete.

The awards were presented at the closing banquet held for Legion athletes.

Dominion President David Flannigan presented the first annual President’s Award to longtime organizer Leroy Washburn, in absentia, for his “selfless dedication in support of” the nationals.

The meet will be held in Sydney, N.S., for the next two years.