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Soggy Harry Jerome International Track Classic – Swangard Stadium, Burnaby

MattPosted on Posted in Race Report, Race Results, Running News
After days of glorious weather, the skies opened up on Thursday afternoon and the relentless rain pounded the athletes at the 23rd Annual Harry Jerome International Track Classic held Thursday night at Swangard Stadium in Central Park, Burnaby. In recent years, numbers of athletes have diminished and the format of the meet has been changed to more of a friendly competition format between Canadian and Chinese athletes. This year, the addition of an Alberta vs. BC category brought a few more homegrown athletes out to the track and field competition. As usual, the crowds were mostly made up of hard core track and field fans, willing to brave the chilly temperatures to watch some rather impressive performances despite the horrid conditions. We arrived in time to take in the 800m, Canadian Olympian Diane Cummins cruising to a comfortable win in 2:04.23 in front of Lui Qing of China. On the men’s side, Achraf Tadili took out the pace hard behind the rabbit, and led for the entire race, finishing in 1:46.87. In the 1500m, Canada finished one-two with Megan Metcalfe cruising by Malindi Elmore in the final 100m to finish in 4:13.22. In the men’s race, Ryan McKenzie dominated the race from start to finish in 3:43.88, with Matt Kerr from Ontario outkicking Paul Hoffman of Australia crossing the line in 3:45.95 for second place. Tyler Christopher crushed the competition in the Men’s 400m, finishing in the second fastest time ever run at the Harry Jerome Track Classic in 45.30. On the women’s side, Sheena Johnson from the USA, outleaned Canada’s Adrienne Power to finish in 52.85. All in all, not a bad night of racing. Canada dominated China in most events, the final points totals:
  1. Canada – 96
  2. China – 75
However, I can’t help but think if there had been some more distance events – namely a 3000m steeple, 5000m, and 10,000m, things might have been much different. It’s always great to get a glimpse of some previous Olympians and Olympic Champions. I miss the glory days of the 90’s when some big names in track and field made the trek to Vancouver – Bruny Surin, Jeff Schiebler, Carl Lewis, Suzy Hamilton, and always a large Japanese distance contingent to compete at Harry Jerome. Hey John, sorry for playing hooky from workout!