Celeste Lugogo of Ontario wins her heat in qualifying for the under-16 women’s 200m final at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que. She finished fifth.

Stephen J. Thorne

As if the Aug. 11-13 gathering of more than 900 teenage athletes wasn’t enough to reinforce the value of the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, two hammer throwers who cut their athletic teeth on the annual competition won world championships in August.

A week after the 2023 youth competition ended in Sherbrooke, Que., Nanaimo, B.C., native Ethan Katzberg, who competed in the Legion Nationals at Brandon, Man., in 2017, and Richmond, B.C.’s Camryn Rogers, who competed at Surrey, B.C., in 2015 and Sainte-Thérèse, Que., in 2016 took gold at the worlds in Budapest.

Katzberg is coached by Olympian Dylan Armstrong—another Legion Nationals athlete. Rogers was only the second Canadian woman to take gold at the worlds, after two-time Canadian junior champion hurdler Perdita Filicien in 2003, who competed in regional Legion events throughout her junior career.

Shot putter Sarah Mitton of Liverpool, N.S., took a silver medal at the worlds. She competed at the Legion Nationals at Ottawa in 2010 and 2011, 2012 in Charlottetown and 2013 in Surrey, B.C.

The list of Olympians who have participated in the 46-year-old Legion event is long and impressive—names suvch as 800-metre specialist Melissa Bishop, sprinters Charmaine Crooks, Angela Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert and Aaron Brown, and pole vaulter Alysha Newman.

Ontario anchor William Scharf crosses the finish line to cap a 6.09s win in the U16 men’s 1,600m medley. The team of Ryan Georgeson, Kowen Moore, Dennis Iriowen and Scharf ran the race in 3:36.64, 1.34s off the meet record.

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“Track and field is definitely one of those sports that needs a little bit more help,” said Trauner, a double amputee who found a new life through sport, first as a paddler and now a cyclist aiming for the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.

“The kids need it,” he told Legion Magazine. “They need it as a stepping stone to become great athletes. The country just can’t expect athletes to kind of pop out of the ground and become great just because they’re born that way.

“Nobody’s born that way; you have to develop. So the fact that the Legion actually supports this event and helps these youth athletes progress in their field—who else is going to do it?”

Naomi Byam of Ontario took the gold in U18 women’s 100m hurdles, clocking a 14:13.

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Ontario’s Dennis Iriowen eked out a 3/100s of a second victory over Jahleel Haley of Toronto’s Flying Angels Academy, clocking a 22.50 in the under-16 men’s 200m.

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Jorai Oppong-Nketiah of Ottawa Lion TFC wins the U16 women’s 100m. She also took the 200.

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Ryan Georgeson beat Ontario teammate William Scharf for gold in the under-16 men’s 800m, clocking a 1:57.66 to Scharf’s 1:58.45.

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Abby Lewis of Athletics East Nova Scotia ran away with a six-second victory in the U18 women’s 1,500 metres, clocking a 4:32.75. She also won the 3,000.

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The agony of defeat.

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Eghosa Ehigiator of Project Athletics Track Club in Scarborough, Ont., placed seventh in U16 men’s discus and took bronze in the shotput.

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All clear.

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Zoe Filion-Harvey of Club d’thletisme de Gatuneau, Que., won the U18 women’s javelin with a thorw of 44.61 metres.

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Jahleel Haley of Flying Angels Academy in Toronto took gold in the U16 men’s 100m (pictured) and silver in the 200. Dennis Iriowen of Ontario won the 200 and took silver in the 100. The Flying Angels’ Kerwin Brookes took bronze in the 200 and finished fourth in the 100.

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Quebec’s Roxanne Tegda won the U18 women’s 100m in 12.37 while Ontario’s Ashley Johnson finished fourth-hundredths of a second behind her for the silver. Brooklyn Taylor of the York University Track and Field Club took the bronze in 12.50. Querbec’s Jade-Ly Innocent nfinished fourth, while Makenna Self took fifth.

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Poppy Moon of Nova Scotia/Nunavut checks out her time after the U18 women’s 1,500 metres. She clocked a 4:44.86 and finished sixth.

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Farsan Abdi of Alberta/NWT took bronze in the U18 men’s 400 metres and the 4x400m at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Grace Wong of BC/Yukon won the U18 women’s 3,000m racewalk in 15:40.35.

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Robin Lefebvre of Quebec won the U18 men’s 1,500 metre going away, taking it in 4:00.85, a 3.4-second margin in the rain.

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Multiple medal-winning Jordynn Scott anchors Ontario to gold, taking the handoff from Savanah Griffith in the U16 women’s 4x100m relay.

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Guillaume Tremblay and Antonin Savignac of Club d’athletisme de l’Universite Laval recover after rainy U18 men’s 1,500m race.

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Chloe Symon of BC/Yukon wins her prelim en route to a gold medal in the U18 women’s 400 metres at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Julia Tunks of Ontario’s London Western Track and Field Club took gold in the U18 women’s shot put and discus.

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My carnage after the second heat of the U16 men’s 2,000 metres. Arjun Sandhu of BC/Yukon won the event.

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Muriel Loveshin of Toronto Olympic TFC, fourth place finisher in the U18 women’s 3,000 metres, gets a hug from silver-medallist Maella Hodgson of BC/Yukon while race-winner Abby Lewis of Atheltics East Nova Scotia recovers on the track.

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Quebec’s Debora Francois-Lapalmeheads to the finish the U16 woimen’s 80m hurdles.

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A United Nations peacekeeping veteran signs a boy’s t-shirt at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que. The games commemorated the 75th anniversary of peacekeeping.

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Natal Bannenberg from the University of Toronto Athletics Club cleared 1.64 metres to win the U18 women’s high jump at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Abby Lewis of Athletics East Nova Scotia led virtually her entire 3,000m race, and also took gold in the 1,500. Maella Hodgson of BC/Yukon and Anna Douma of Laurel Creek TFC in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. finished 2-3 respectively.

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Anchor Kerwin Brookes finished off an incredible comeback by Flying Angels Academy after a fall on the first pass of the U16 men’s 4x100m set them well back of the leaders. The Toronto-based club eked out a 44.34, defeating Alberta/NWT by 11/100s.

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Logan Kok of Saskatchewan won the U18 decathalon’s 110m hurdles, but Jackson Mackay of Ontario took the gold with a national age group record 6,535 points, beating the the 6,526, set by Jasper Schiedel in 2015. Mackay won the shotput, high jump, discus, javelin and 1,500 metres en route to his medal.

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Anna Somers of New Brunswick launches out of the blocks at the start of her U18 women’s 400m preliminary at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Local favourite Philip Richard finished just out of the medals with a fourth place result in the U18 men’s 400m at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Ontario’s Ryan Georgeson and William Scharf finished 1-2 in the U-16 men’s 1,200 metres at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Jenae Francis of Project Athletics TFC in Markham, Ont., took silver in the U18 women’s shotput and finished foruth in the discus.

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Quebec anchor Alexane Hunter crosses the finish line in the under-18 women’s 4x400m relay at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Wounded Afghanistan veteran Mike Trauner, honorary chair of the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships, talks to athletes in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Moni Galouon-Eta of Alberta/NWT won the U16 women’s 300m race in 38.71.

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Isaiah Baker of Alberta/NWT won the U18 men’s long jumpo with a leap of 7.12 metres.

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Susan Hurtubise of BC/Yukon won the under-18 women’s pole vault clearing 3.40 metres at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Ontario’s Janae Dawes took the under-18 women’s 400m hurdles in 1:02.13 at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Ont.

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Volunteers collect hurdles at the end of competition.

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Natalie Keys of the Peterborough, Ont., Pacers Track and Field Club finshed fourth in the U16 women’s 200m hurdles, 9/100s out of the medals.

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Gursher Gabri, an unattachd athlete from British Columbia, took silver with a 15.70m throw in the under-16 men’s shotput.

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Gabrielle Ruggeri of Etobicoke, Ont., TFC led the entire under-18 women’s 800m, clocking a 2:12.57 to fend off strong finish by Quebec’s Julian Theriault. Poppy Moon of Nova Scotia/Nunavut took bronze.

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The under-18 women’s 800m gold medallist Gabrielle Ruggeri of Etobicoke, Ont., TFC gets a congratulatory high-five from Quebec’s silver medal-winning Julian Theriault. Poppy Moon of Nova Scotia/Nunavut took bronze.

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Jenesi Tomlinson of Flying Angels Academy in Toronto on the U18 women’s triple jump.

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Katherin Kennedy of Kajaks TFC in Richmond, B.C., and Lexie Girouard of New Brunswick finished 7-8 respectively in the under-16b woimen’s 1,500m steeplechase.

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Dayna Thompson of the Stratford, Ont., Sabrecats Track Club took a spill on Lap 2 of the under-18 women’s 2,000m steeplechase at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que., yet she gritted it out to place sixth out of 18 finishers.

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Tricks of the trade: Susan Hurtubise of BC/Yukon steadies the bar as she clears 3.40 metres to win the under-18 women’s pole vault at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Fenway Breckels of Thorld, Ont., Elite Track Club pulls off a precarious escape fom the water jump to finish seventh in the under-18 men’s 2,000m steeplechase at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Farsan Abdi of Alberta/NWT and William Scharf of Ontario take the batons entering the third leg of the U18 men’s 4x400m at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke; Que. Alberta/N.W.T. took bronze; Ontario finished seventh.

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William Sanders takes the first pass from teammate Safwan El Mansari en route to the Ottawa Lions’ silver medal in the under-18 men’s 4x400m relay at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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Jaina Kang of BC/Yukon led the women’s under-18 2,000m steeplechase start-to-finish, clocking a 7:00.27 — more than 13.5s ahead of her nearest competitor at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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New Brunswick anchor Malika Allain takes the pass from teammate Shaniece Smikle in the under-18 women’s 4x400m relay at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que. New Brunswick finished the race in ninth place.

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The U16 women’s 200m champion, Jorai Oppong-Nketiah gets two high-fives from fourth place finisher Kyla Findley of Manitoba/Northwest Ontario after the race.

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Lead Safwan El Mansati of the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club gives anchor Zachary Jeggo a hug after the team took silver in the men’s 4x400m relay at the 2023 Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.

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RCL Vice-Prsident Brian Weaver awards Hannah Gates of Saskatchewan the Leroy Washburn Award as the top female Legion athlete at the 2023 Legion National Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Que. Gates won gold in the U16 800 metres, 1,200 metres and the triple jump, as well a bronze anchoring her team’s 1,600m medley.

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RCL President Bruce Julian awards Caleb Pivin of Quebec with the Jack Stenhouse Award as the top Legion male athlete of the competition. Pivin won the U16 pentathalon with 3,258 points, taking the 100 and 1,000 metres in the process. He also took gold in the U16 men’s 100m hurdles and a bronze in the 4x100m relay.

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Kelly Smith presents retired national director and event organizer Danny Martin with the President’s Award for 12 years of “selfless dedication” to the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships.

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Retired event organizer Danny Martin with his successor, Steven Van Muyen.

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Legion-sponsored athletes came from every province and territory but P.E.I.

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