The qualifiers at the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic track and field trials in Montreal are presented oversized, cardboard commemorative Air Canada tickets to Paris.
Two of the biggest hopes from the Island for the 2024 Olympic Games, Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo and Nate Riech of Victoria, accepted theirs with broad smiles this weekend after winning their events in convincing fashions.
Defending world-champion Katzberg won the men’s hammer with a national-championship meet record of 82.60 metres with Rowan Hamilton of Richmond second at 75.83 metres and Adam Keenan of Victoria third at 72.89 metres.
Katzberg looks on form heading into the Olympics as his throw at nationals approached his 84.38 metres from April in Nairobi, Kenya, which was the farthest hammer throw in 16 years and the ninth longest all-time. It continued his relentless climb that began with the silver medal in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and continued with gold medals in 2023 at the world championships in Budapest and Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile.
“We’re taking it day by day and just focusing on the training. We’re very focused on keeping our heads down and hoping for a good outcome in Paris,” the John Barsby Secondary graduate said in a statement.
B.C. continued laying down the hammer with defending world and Commonwealth Games champion Camryn Rogers of Richmond winning the women’s throw with 75.05 metres to stamp her ticket to Paris.
Victoria-based Gabriela Debues-Stafford, fifth in the 1,500 metres at the Tokyo Olympics, won the women’s 5,000 metres at the trials in 15:33.50. Among the other highlights of the qualifying meet, which concludes today, has been Olympic multi-medallist Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., winning another Canadian 100-metre title and Sarah Mitton of Nova Scotia also stamping her ticket to Paris by winning a fourth-consecutive women’s shotput national championship.
Marathon athletes have longer qualifying periods and do not have to compete in the trials. Island marathon athletes who have achieved standard and are qualified for the Paris Olympics include Canadian and North American record holder Cam Levins of Black Creek in the men’s marathon and Olivia Lundman of Nanaimo in the mixed marathon racewalk relay with Evan Dunfee of Richmond.
“It’s definitely starting to feel a lot more real now, for sure,” Lundman told the Times Colonist, before leaving last week for altitude training in Switzerland to be followed by hot-weather training in Spain to prepare for Paris.
“I loved having my Island community supporting me,” added Lundman, who came out of the Nanaimo Track and Field Club along with Katzberg.
“Ethan and I grew up in the junior development program in the Nanaimo Track and Field club doing all the events. The fact we are both going to be representing Canada at the Olympics is amazing. Some people don’t even know where Nanaimo is.”
They will now.
Tokyo Paralympics gold-medallist Nate Riech of Victoria, meanwhile, won the T38 1,500 metres in 4:09.84 at the trials in Montreal, well under the qualifying standard, and will look to defend his Paralympics title this summer in Paris.
“Hey, world. Let’s get it going. Let’s run the gauntlet. I welcome all comers and I look forward to challenging myself,” said Riech, in a statement.
“It feels great. At the end of the day, I got the job done.”
