Three years after revealing herself at her first Canadian Senior Championships held in Claude-Robillard, Audrey Leduc continued to shine on the same track, winning the 100 meters of the Montreal Athletics Classic on Sunday evening.
Posted yesterday at 11:07 p.m.
The wind was not legal. His main opponent was injured. And the public was desperately scattered in the east stands, the only ones available during this period of work at the sports complex.
But the sprinter from Gatineau did not miss her shot during this final which required a photo finish to decide between the first two.
Leduc won with an excellent time of 11.36 seconds, a mark that will not be approved, however, since the wind exceeded the allowed limit of 2 m/s (+ 2.5 m/s). The 23-year-old athlete was one hundredth ahead of Ontario’s Jacqueline Madogo. Experienced Crystal Emmanuel, eight-time Canadian champion over the distance, finished third in 11.48 seconds.
“Whatever the wind, legal or not, it was the best time I’ve run in my life,” said Leduc. Eleven seconds 36, I’ve never done that. It’s a bit indescribable. It’s like a brain shuffle I got after my run. I don’t remember everything. I only remember that Jacqueline was close and I said to myself: “OK, go, go, go!” I passed her just at the end. When I saw the weather, it was crazy. »
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Audrey Leduc
Leduc’s best time is 11.48 s, achieved on the same track in qualifying at the Canadian Championships, in July 2019. The former national junior champion approached two hundredths in the semi-finals on Sunday, which put her placed him in an excellent position for the final.
She had run in 11.58 s (+ 2.3 m/s) and 11.61 s (+ 2.0 m/s) in Saint-Laurent on May 21. “My goal was to come and improve my time. Well, I did more than that! »
Madogo is the university champion in the 60m, where the Quebecer took third place at the end of March for the Laval University Rouge et Or. For his part, Emmanuel is a triple Olympian, finalist in the 200m in 2012, who has dominated Canadian sprinting for a decade.
“We had time to talk to each other earlier and she said congratulations to me,” said Leduc. She is hurt. It can affect our performance. Remains that on paper, I will have beaten it. She’s an Olympian. It’s still a lot of fun to be able to say that to yourself and tick that box. »
Leduc is now aiming to participate in the World Championships in Eugene, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham or the NACAC Continental Championships in the Bahamas. A podium at the Canadian Championships in Langley, in three weeks, now seems “more achievable”.
Stiverne and Powell
The 400m runners also got a taste of the wind sweeping the track…but obviously got it head-on on one of the straights. Adopted Quebecer Aiyanna Stiverne won in a modest time of 53.39 seconds. Montreal’s Micha Powell finished second in 54.05 s. Alexandra Telford of Ottawa completed the podium (55.38 s).
Stiverne also placed second in the 200m won by Zoe Sherar. “My last season didn’t go the way I wanted, so I’m focusing on the basics, putting things in place and feeling my body well,” explained the Miami native, whose coach is Lavallois Ronald Morency. “I had a long delay of five hours at the Toronto airport. My legs are tired. So I’m quite happy with this win. »
After missing out on the Tokyo Olympics last year, Stiverne is aiming for a spot at the next worlds, as is Powell, who is recovering from a COVID-19 infection.
“We tried something a little different by starting a little faster, but when I got into the wind, I couldn’t move! admitted the daughter of world high jump record holder Mike Powell and three-time Montreal Olympian Rosey Edeh. Micha Powell now aims to achieve a time of 51.35 s to qualify for the Worlds.
In 12.89 s in the 100m hurdles, Michelle Harrison, of Saskatoon, missed the standard for the Worlds by five small hundredths. The announcer/director Laurent Godbout made him a false joy by mistakenly announcing a time of 12.56 s…
The one who promised to be the main attraction of the meeting, the pole vaulter Alysha Newman, disappointed by crossing only one bar at 4.35 m, which still earned her the victory. His three attempts at 4.50m did not go well. She didn’t even bother to plant the pole on the last two attempts.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Alysha Newman
Fifth at the 2019 Worlds, the London native had a disappointment at the Tokyo Games, not passing any bar. She suffered a concussion which prevented her from jumping for six months afterwards. A mark of 4.61m last month in Windsor suggested she was on the right track.
Disappointed with the apathy of the crowd (there were barely 100 spectators) and the delay before her event, Newman did not participate in the podium ceremony. She picked up her check and pushed over to wait for her Uber for the airport. A quick visit that will not go down in history.