Fans pack track to see Olympians
Named after a Canadian sprinting legend, the country’s oldest international track and field meet took place Wednesday night at a Coquitlam stadium named for another national track star.
The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Track Classic drew a capacity crowd of 1,400 to Percy Perry Stadium — an expected one-year visit before returning to Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium since the main attraction and latest Canadian speed protégé, Andre De Grasse, favoured this newer, faster track.
And many of the fans came to watch De Grasse, one of the world’s best sprinters, who is poised to take the baton from the fastest of them all, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.
“There is no rivalry. I see him as the heir apparent of Bolt,” said Albright Mackenzie, a Jamaican living in Coquitlam who came to see De Grasse race at the Classic. “Bolt really doesn’t have a rival.”
Although the men’s 100 metres would be the final race of the night, the stands filled quickly for the evening meet. As a field of 11 women blasted off in the opening event, the 800-metre race, groups of preteens gathered to practise their hand-offs for the club relays.
The varied field is a hallmark of the meet, first hosted by the Achilles Track and Field Society in 1964 before the Canadian, U.S. and German national teams flew east for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The meet mixes Olympic contenders — such as De Grasse, middle-distance runner Melissa Bishop, decathlete Damian Warner, and Richmond race walker Evan Dunfee — alongside developing youngsters from the region’s track and field clubs, as well as athletes with the Special Olympics.
“It’s a very good motivation for young athletes,” said Hector Curiel. Curiel arrived at the stands alongside his two daughters, both of them wearing the green pinnies of the Coquitlam Cheetas.
Eleven-year-old Itzel Curiel started a petition to draw De Grasse to one of her club practices. She couldn’t lure him with the roughly 50 signatures she obtained, but his presence was noted around the region at places like Minoru Park where he chatted up high school athletes from McMath Secondary.
Overall, the Markham Ont. sprinter brings enormous positivity to the sport, said Dunfee, a national teammate and fellow Olympian.
“Let’s be honest, Andre is the reason half these people are here, and that is amazing,” he said. “We can get them here for Andre and then show them the rest of track and field.”
Dunfee, who famously finished fourth at the Rio Summer Olympics after a technical decision that would have put him on the podium was overruled, met with young spectators, chatting casually with them after he finished second in the mile, a rare distance to race.
He finished less than one second behind Ben Thorne, who clocked in at five minutes, 41.89 seconds, as both men set what may be Canada’s fastest two times in the unusual distance.
Earlier in the day, Dunfee had a 40-kilometre training session, which left his legs “a little heavy” for the shorter distance. He said he enjoyed the rare treat of competing on a track within a stadium, soaking in the roar of the crowd and being able to see fellow Team Canada athletes in action.
“I’ll be able to stick around to see Damian long jump and Andre run and Melissa run. To see all my teammates compete, I rarely get to do that because we are always at different events,” Dunfee said.
“So, for me, the most exciting thing about this meet is to be here to get to see my teammates compete.”