Sam Effah reacts to winning the men's 100-meter race at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Calgary, Alberta, June 24, 2011.
Photograph by: Todd Korol, Reuters
CALGARY — Among the large number of fans cheering on hometown favourite Sam Effah was a seasoned observer.
“Sam’s our best sprinter now and I’m definitely looking forward to some great things,” said Canadian sprinting legend Donovan Bailey, minutes after Effah retained his Canadian championship in the men’s 100 metres. “To achieve such a performance in these weather conditions is pretty good. I’m looking forward to him going through the rounds in Daegu (at the worlds) and hopefully he stays healthy and does some good things.
“I think when he’s up against some bigger and better talent, he’s going to go even faster.”
Effah earned Bailey’s praise after posting a 10.23 in Friday night’s final at Foothills Athletic Park, where he had to battle cool, strong winds along with the opposition. Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., was second in 10:31, while Toronto’s Aaron Brown was third in 10.39.
“I’m really happy about the race,” said Effah, 22, who was introduced to the Foothills track as part of a Grade 7 mini-camp. “This is the first track I ever ran on and it’s leading me on to the Olympics. I never would have thought eight years later I’d be running for nationals and representing Canada.
“I came in second to another guy in junior high,” he recalled. “I was choked.”
One man Effah didn’t have to face Friday night was Justyn Warner, who had the fastest qualifying time. Warner, from Markham, Ont., was victimized by a false start and was disqualified.
“It would have been nice to have a full field, because I know he was gunning for it, too,” said Effah. “You can almost feel for them. When you get disqualified in a final, you have to wait another year. I’ll be up against him next week and the week after.”
With the victory, the Calgarian is hoping his injury woes (quad) are behind him.
“Considering what I came from,” he said, “I’m happy. I came here for a win and that’s what I got.”
And the words of praise from Bailey, who will on Saturday night be inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame?
“It was cool,” Effah said with a smile. “I never met the guy. So to finally officially meet him at this point in my career is huge. For someone to know my name, whose won a gold medal, is cool.”
In the women’s 100, Scarborough’s Crystal Emmanuel surged to victory, crossing the finish line in a time of 11:45, just .04 faster than clubmate Toyin Olupona.
“I went out there very scared, because it’s a hard transition from junior to senior,” said the 19-year-old. “I had my doubts because yesterday my knee was bugging me.”
Emmanuel runs in the 200 metres, her ‘main event’, on Saturday.
In the women’s javelin final held Friday, Melissa Fraser of Hillsburg, Ont., surprised more than a few people by taking the gold medal, hurling the spear 50.25 metres. She bettered Elizabeth Gleadle (50.18) by a shade.
“The wind kept changing. It was headwind, then tailwind, then a crosswind … you couldn’t win today,” said Fraser, who defeated the top two competitors, Canadian record holder Krista Woodward of New Westminster, B.C., and Vancouver’s Gleadle, both of whom were befuddled by that wind.
Among the other final winners: Jason Wurster of Stevensville, Ont., was the men’s pole vault champion, sailing 5.25 metres; Dana Buchanan and Alex Genest, both of Guelph, Ont.’s Speed River club, won the women’s and men’s 3,000-metre steeplechase; the 5,000-metre crowns went to Leslie Sexton of London and Reid Coolsaet of Guelph; and in men’s javelin, after a two-year absence due to injuries, Windsor, Ont.’s Scott Russell — who holds the Canadian record of 84.41 — won the gold with a 77.46 throw.
Calgary Herald
“Sam’s our best sprinter now and I’m definitely looking forward to some great things,” said Canadian sprinting legend Donovan Bailey, minutes after Effah retained his Canadian championship in the men’s 100 metres. “To achieve such a performance in these weather conditions is pretty good. I’m looking forward to him going through the rounds in Daegu (at the worlds) and hopefully he stays healthy and does some good things.
“I think when he’s up against some bigger and better talent, he’s going to go even faster.”
Effah earned Bailey’s praise after posting a 10.23 in Friday night’s final at Foothills Athletic Park, where he had to battle cool, strong winds along with the opposition. Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., was second in 10:31, while Toronto’s Aaron Brown was third in 10.39.
“I’m really happy about the race,” said Effah, 22, who was introduced to the Foothills track as part of a Grade 7 mini-camp. “This is the first track I ever ran on and it’s leading me on to the Olympics. I never would have thought eight years later I’d be running for nationals and representing Canada.
“I came in second to another guy in junior high,” he recalled. “I was choked.”
One man Effah didn’t have to face Friday night was Justyn Warner, who had the fastest qualifying time. Warner, from Markham, Ont., was victimized by a false start and was disqualified.
“It would have been nice to have a full field, because I know he was gunning for it, too,” said Effah. “You can almost feel for them. When you get disqualified in a final, you have to wait another year. I’ll be up against him next week and the week after.”
With the victory, the Calgarian is hoping his injury woes (quad) are behind him.
“Considering what I came from,” he said, “I’m happy. I came here for a win and that’s what I got.”
And the words of praise from Bailey, who will on Saturday night be inducted into the Athletics Canada Hall of Fame?
“It was cool,” Effah said with a smile. “I never met the guy. So to finally officially meet him at this point in my career is huge. For someone to know my name, whose won a gold medal, is cool.”
In the women’s 100, Scarborough’s Crystal Emmanuel surged to victory, crossing the finish line in a time of 11:45, just .04 faster than clubmate Toyin Olupona.
“I went out there very scared, because it’s a hard transition from junior to senior,” said the 19-year-old. “I had my doubts because yesterday my knee was bugging me.”
Emmanuel runs in the 200 metres, her ‘main event’, on Saturday.
In the women’s javelin final held Friday, Melissa Fraser of Hillsburg, Ont., surprised more than a few people by taking the gold medal, hurling the spear 50.25 metres. She bettered Elizabeth Gleadle (50.18) by a shade.
“The wind kept changing. It was headwind, then tailwind, then a crosswind … you couldn’t win today,” said Fraser, who defeated the top two competitors, Canadian record holder Krista Woodward of New Westminster, B.C., and Vancouver’s Gleadle, both of whom were befuddled by that wind.
Among the other final winners: Jason Wurster of Stevensville, Ont., was the men’s pole vault champion, sailing 5.25 metres; Dana Buchanan and Alex Genest, both of Guelph, Ont.’s Speed River club, won the women’s and men’s 3,000-metre steeplechase; the 5,000-metre crowns went to Leslie Sexton of London and Reid Coolsaet of Guelph; and in men’s javelin, after a two-year absence due to injuries, Windsor, Ont.’s Scott Russell — who holds the Canadian record of 84.41 — won the gold with a 77.46 throw.
Calgary Herald
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