Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier meet gave runners a chance to chase Olympic standards
Hi,
There was a meet in Texas that served as a chance for runners to go after the Olympic standards in the 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. Eight Canadians took part. That meet was really it in terms of Canadian running news, as time is ticking on finding opportunities to run the Olympic standard.
Let’s get to it!
Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier meet gave runners a chance to chase Olympic standards
A two-day meet called the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier was organized to give athletes a chance to race in a time when racing opportunities are few and far between. It was held at on Feb. 26 and 27 and was broadcast by Citius Mag on YouTube.
Friday night was dedicated to those going for the time needed to qualify for the American track & field Olympic trials and Saturday nigh featured races for those going for the Olympic standard.
You can watch Friday night’s races here and Saturday night’s races here. You can find the full results here.
Gabriela DeBues-Stafford wins 1,500m in a tactical race
Gabriela DeBues-Stafford won the 1,500m, in a time of 4:10.09. Gabriela outkicked her BTC teammate Sinclaire Johnson, who finished second in 4:10.75.
It was the first time Gabriela has raced the 1,500m in a meet since she ran 3:56 at the world championships in Doha. Gabriela died her hair Bowerman Track Club red for the occasion. The broadcast caught Gabriela walking over to a trash can to puke after the race, showing the glamorous side of pro racing.
Gabriela was profiled by CBC Sports leading up to the Texas meet. She recently went to altitude to train her BTC. She’s been dealing with a mild flare of an Achilles injury and plantar fasciitis for a better part of the year, but told CBC that it’s the best it’s been in a long time.
There was one other Canadian in the 1,500m race: Jenna Westaway ran 4:18.87 to finish seventh.
The qualifying mark for the Olympics in the 1,500m is 4:04.20.
Justyn Knight wins 1,500m in impressive time, considering the humid conditions
Justyn Knight won the men’s 1,500m in 3:36.62, which was just shy of his PB of 3:36.07, which he set in 2018. According to CBC Sports reporter Doug Harrison on Twitter, Justyn is giving his $750 winnings to his brother as a birthday present.
“I felt really relaxed out there,” Justyn told Flotrack after the race. “I was hoping to run fast enough here that they’d let me into some Diamond Leagues.”
Justyn told FloTrack that this was his last race of this weird COVID indoor/outdoor season. He’s going to take it easy for few weeks before figuring out what’s next.
The Olympics qualifying mark in the 1,500m is 3:35.00.
Solid showings by Ben Flanagan, Kieran Lumb and Julie-Anne Staehli in the 5,000m
In the men’s 5,000m, Ben Flanagan ran 13:44.87 to place sixth while Kieran Lumb ran 13:57.80 to finish eighth.
Ben told CBC Sports before the race that his goal was 13:20. The Olympic standard for men in the 5,000m is 13:13.50.
Kieran was 17 seconds slower than his personal best of 13:40.51, and shared on Instagram after the race that he had a tough race.
“Tough race and tough conditions out there last night, to be honest I’m not sure exactly where or why things went wrong. 13:57 is certainly not where I want to be right now but it is what it is. Whether it’s a good race or a bad one, important to move on from it,” he wrote.
In the women’s 5,000, Julie-Anne Staehli ran 15:32.46 to place eighth. The time is a PB for Julie-Anne, whose previous best of 16:00.30 was set in 2019, but it was off her goal of running the Olympic standard, which she shared on Instagram before the race. In her Instagram stories, she shared that she was pleased with the PB but knows she “has more” in her.
The Olympics qualifying time for women for the 5,000m is 15:10.
Rory Linkletter and Lanni Marchant struggle in the 10,000m
In the men’s 10,000, Rory Linkletter ran 30:24.26 to finish sixth. 12 men started the race, but seven dropped out. Of the six runners to finish the race, Rory was last.
“Sharing the ugly stuff here. 12 people towed the line, 6 finished... I was number 6. It stings to have the ole’ DFL & 30:24 next to my name,” Rory wrote on Instagram after the race. “I couldn’t drop out... No excuses, just time to get back to work and show up better next time.”
The Olympic qualifying time for men in the 10,000m is 27:28.00.
Lanni Marchant started the women’s 10,000 but was one of six runners to drop out. The race was won by Konstanze Klosterhalfen, who set the German national record by crossing the line in 31:01.71. It was Lanni’s first competitive 10,000m since she ran the 10,000m at the Rio Olympics.
Lanni’s spent the past few years struggling with injuries and underwent multiple surgeries, but had recently returned to racing. She’s run a few solid half-marathons during the pandemic, running 1:13:19 at the Las Vegas Gold Half Marathon in January and 1:14:67 the Michigan Pro Half Marathon in October.
The Olympic qualifying time for women in the 10,000m is 31:25.00.
The Texas Trials were important because finding Olympic qualifying chances right now is really tough
The pandemic has cancelled races far and wide, and finding opportunities to even attempt to secure Olympic qualifying times has been tough, especially for Canadians who live and train in Canada, as our lockdown rules have been a lot more stringent than those in the U.S. I wrote a little bit about this in last week’s issue, and Canadian Press’s Lori Ewing did a bigger piece about this problem for TSN this week.
According to Ewing, Athletics Canada wants to send a team of 60 athletes to the Olympics, but only 24 have achieved the standard in their respective event. Athletes can secure Olympic berths with their world rankings (the standards for several of the running events are really, really tough), but the only way to achieve either is to actually race. And any Canadian who decides to travel internationally to compete then must deal with the mandatory two-week quarantine upon returning, which can significantly impact training.
"It's just so unfair for Canadians at the moment, it's terrible," said Simon Nathan, Athletics Canada's high performance director. "The worry is: if I don't travel, then I can't qualify. If I do travel, there are places that are more risky (for the pandemic) than Canada. And then I come home and have to sit on my bum, literally not allowed to do anything for two weeks while my rivals are still training, they're still competing.
"So it's stress coming from every direction."
Athletics Canada is lobbying the IOC to have a more forgiving pathway to compete at the Olympics, considering how the pandemic has impacted the ability to compete.
The Canadian track & field national championships are June 24-27. It’s no longer a requirement to compete in them to be named to the Olympic team (that was previously the case for all Olympic and world teams) so that may be the best chance for athletes living in Canada to secure their Olympic spot.
Strides: Other stuff to care about
🎧 Sprinter Jared Connaughton was on the Inner Olympian podcast with Segun Makinde. Jared represented Canada at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He’s probably best known, though, for what was one of the worst moments of his athletic career: he cost Canada the bronze medal in the 4x100m relay at the 2021 Games because of a lane violation. In this conversation, Jared talks about growing up on Prince Edward Island, finding running, how he found the drive to pursue his running dreams and turning to coaching when his own competitive career was done. Jared now coaches track and cross-country at Fort Worth Country Day School in Texas.
👟 Marathoner Malindi Elmore and middle-distance runner Nate Brannen spoke to Canadian Running about the importance of longevity and how one ca manage their career so that they will be competitive for a long time.
🗺 Triathlete John Yip is passing the time during the pandemic by trying to run every street in Toronto. BlogTO spoke to him about why he’s doing this and what it’s been like.
🌟 I enjoyed this profile of Ryan and Sara Hall in Runner’s World and how their marriage and careers have evolved together and how they are working together to pursue Sara’s goal of breaking the American marathon record.
That’s it for this week! You can subscribe to Run the North here:
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Thanks for reading. I hope you’re staying safe.
Keep on running and I’ll see you next week.