Canada: Athletics Team for World Championships

(Ottawa, July 28, 2005) – Athletics Canada is pleased to announce its official list of 32 athletes who have been selected for nomination to the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Athletics taking place in Helsinki, Finland, August 6-14.

Made up of 21 men and 11 women, including two athletes with a disability, team members have had to meet a series of tough performance standards during certain time periods over the past year.  Depending on the event, the majority of the nominees also had to finish in the top four of the 2005 Canadian Track and Field Championships which took place this past weekend in Winnipeg.

“This is the first year of the quadrennial leading to the Beijing Olympics. In addition to selecting our very best veterans we have included “rising stars“ who we believe will be successful in Beijing”, says Alex Gardiner, Athletics Canada’s chief technical officer and national team head coach.  “You might say this team represents the best talent of today and those who will be our top performers throughout the next four to eight years. For some, Helsinki will be a really tough test. This will allow those athletes and us to see where we are and what we need to do to strengthen our results in Beijing in four years “

With a mixture of veterans and exciting young talent, Canada is looking to improve upon its last World Championship performance in Paris where the team won four medals including one gold and two from demonstration events.

Team members are listed below:

ATHLETES

Name, Age, Event, Hometown

Jeff ADAMS, 34, 200mWCh (T54)*, Toronto, ON 
Richard ADU-BOBIE, 21, 4x100m, Ottawa, ON

Charles ALLEN, 28, 110mH, Brampton, ONTim BERRETT, 40, 50km Rw, Edmonton, ABMark BOSWELL, 27, HJ, Brampton, ONNathan BRANNEN, 22, 1500m, Cambridge, ONPierre BROWNE, 25, 100m, 4x100m, Toronto, ONTyler CHRISTOPHER, 22, 400m, Chilliwack, BCReid COOLSAET, 26, 5000m, Guelph, ONDianne CUMMINS, 31, 800m, Vancouver, BCTawa DORTCH, 25, 400mH, Edmonton, AB Carmen DOUMA-HUSSAR, 28, 1500m, Cambridge, ON Dana ELLIS, 25, PV, Kitchener, ON Perdita FELICIEN, 24, 100mH, Pickering, ON Kelsie HENDRY, 23, PV, Saskatoon, SK Anson HENRY, 26, 4x100m, Pickering, ON Karl JENNINGS, 26, 110mH, Brampton, ON Jennifer JOYCE, 24, HT, Richmond, BCMatthew KERR, 29, 3000msc, Elora, ONJarek KULESZA, 27, 4x100m, Laval, QC Priscilla LOPES, 22, 100mH, Whitby, ONNicolas MACROZONARIS, 25, 4x100m, Laval, QCColin MATHIESON, 26, 100mWCh (T54)*, Winnipeg, MBToyin OLUPONA, 22, 100m, London, ON Hank PALMER, 20, 4x100m, Dollard-des-Orme, QCGary REED, 24, 800m, Kamloops, BC Scott RUSSELL, 26, JT, Windsor, ON Kevin SULLIVAN, 31, 1500m, Brantford, ON Achraf TADILI, 25, 800m, Montreal, QC Jason TUNKS, 30, DT, London, ON Angela WHYTE, 25, 100mH, Edmonton, AB Jessica ZELINKA, 23, Heptahlon, London, ON

*Wheelchair demonstration events

A recent MRI on Charles Allen has indicated a small tear of the tendon behind his left hamstring. A final decision on a course of action will take place on Friday; however, it is unlikely he will compete in Helsinki.

TEAM STAFF

Name, Residence, Position

Jean-Guy OUELLETTE, Sherbrooke, QC, Chairman

Joanne MORTIMORE, Ottawa, ON, Chief Operating Officer

Alex GARDINER, Winnipeg, MA, Head Coach

John ALLAN, London, ON, Coach

Glenroy GILBERT, Ottawa, ON, Coach

Wynn GMITROSKI, Victoria, BC, Coach

Martin GOULET, Longueuil, QC, Coach

Les GRAMANTIK, Calgary, AB, Coach

Rick REELIE, Saskatoon, SK, Coach

Derek COVINGTON, Ottawa, ON, Team Manager

Thelma WRIGHT, Vancouver, BC, Team Manager

Marcel CHARLAND, Kingston, ON, Massage Therapist

Wilbour KELSICK, Port Moody, BC, Chiropractor

Gianni MARIANI, Laval, QC, Physiotherapist

Ghislaine ROBERT, Redmond, WA, Doctor

Al VERNEC, Montreal, QC, Doctor  

Ivonne SHOUCAIR, Ottawa, ON, Media Liaison

A pre-Games training camp is being held for the team in Berlin, Germany from July 27^th until August 3^rd.  The competition begins Saturday, August 6^th and runs until Sunday, August 14^th. 

Following the IAAF world championships, Adams and Mathieson will be joining other members of Canada’s national team for athletes with a disability to compete in the International Paralympic Committee Athletics Open European Championships taking place in Espoo, Finland, August 21-27.

Athletics Canada is the national sport governing body for the sport of track and field including cross-country running and road running. Its purpose is to support high performance athletics excellence at the world level and to provide leadership in developmental athletics.  Athletics Canada is a not for profit, charitable organization operating under a board of directors elected by provincial / territorial members. 

source Athletics Canada