Congratulations to Herve Leblanc, Ward Hazen, Line Falconand Rachel Andres for being selected for AOTM honours!
By Jo Bryant
What a huge month August was for Canadian Masters athletes, with outstanding performances in the World Masters Athletics Championships (WMAC) in Gothenburg, Sweden and in other venues!
Hervé Leblanc85, won two individual gold medals and set three Canadian records at the WMAC. He won the M85-89 10 km racewalk (RW) in 1:19:20 and the 5000m track RW in 38:18:77.His 5 km split in the 10 km road RW also set a Canadian record of 36:48. Not only did he win on those days, but his times for his 10 km and 5 km RW remained the best in the world for M85 for 2024, and his 5000m track RW second in world rankings.Hervé lives in New Richmond, QCand is coached by Jocelyn Ruest.
Photo Credit: Dan Slovitt
Ward Hazen70, won gold in both the M70 decathlon and the 80m hurdles in the WMAC. Both his decathlon point total of 6654 from the 10 events, and his hurdles time of 12.90s, were the best in the world in 2024. His decathlon score was phenomenal given that he was unable to complete the 1500m due to a hamstring injury.
Ward hails from Strathmore, ON and was prepared for the WMAC by coaches Chris Timm, Tom Fitzgerald, James Porto, Bruce Glebe, and Al Northcott.
Photo credit: Doug “Shaggy” Smith
Line Falcon60, won two gold medals in Gothenburg at the WMAC. Showing fierce determination, Line held off near placed rivals in both the 5000m track RW and the 10 km road RW.Her track 5000 RW time of 30:04.3 was the second fastest in the world in 2024; her 10 km RW time of 1:02:26 was ranked fifth in 2024. Line lives in St-Ignace-de Stanbridge,QC and is self-coached.
Photo Credit: Dan Slovitt
Rachel Andres37, set a new W35 World Record for Weight Pentathlon in Calgary on August 31 with a points total of 3944! Rachel lives in Olds, AB and is coached by Kim Cousins (Calgary, AB) and Chris Brown (Tulsa, OK).
Honorable Mention
Selection of Honorable Mentions for August was equally difficult! We decided on the following 7 athletes’ performances (in alphabetical order):
Wendy Alexis69, won a gold medal at the WMAC in the W65 100m in 14.46s and silver in the 200m in 30.81s, as well as contributed a speedy section to the W65 new W65 4x100m Canadian relay record. Wendy lives in Ottawa and is coached by Sean Burges.
Dmitry Babenko51, won two gold and one bronze medal in the WMAC. His win in the 20 km road RW in 1:39:01 placed him third in world rankings for 2024. His speedy 5000m track RW gold took 23:16.5 and ranked fourth in 2024; his 10km road RW bronze performance took 49:07:00, and was ranked 8 globally for 2024. Dmitry lives in Brooklyn, NY, USA and is self-coached.
Barb Dabrowski, 67, a javelin specialist, won gold in W65 javelin at the WMAC with a throw of 29.27m. This throw ranked her fourth in the world in 2024. Barb lives in Waterloo, ON and is currently self-coached.
Karla del Grande71, tied her world record in the 100m with 14.70s in an electric race to the wire at the WMAC! She also won gold in the 200m hurdles and silver in the 200m. Her 200m hurdles time of 37.63s was the second best, and her 200m time of 30.89s third best in the world in 2024. Karla Del Grande resides in Toronto, Ontario and is coached by Kerry R. Smith.
Melanie Guy, 45, threw well in all throws events to win the gold medal in the Throws Pentathlon at the WMAC. Her points total of 3472 was ranked third in the world in 2024. Mélanie also won a bronze medal in the hammer throw at the WMAC with a distance of 42.50m. Melanie lives in Beloeil, QC and is coached by David Delombaerde.
Ernest Kurtz81, won the M80 5000m track RW event at the WMAC with a Canadian record time of 32:24.05. This time ranked him second in the world in 2024. He was won silver in the 10 km road RW in a time of 1:14:22, another Canadian record. Ernest lives in Langley, BC.
Elizabeth Waywell66, raced to a gold medal in the half marathon at the WMAC in a time of 1;33:58. Elizabeth also won two individual bronze medals, in the 10 km road in 43:32:00, and the 5000m track in 20:44:50. Additionally, at the CMA Championships in Laval, QC, she set the W65 Canadian record in the 10,000m (track) in 43:04.74. Elizabeth lives in Guelph, On and is coached by John Marsden.
