Athletics: Last-minute scratches deplete fields

No-shows defined the first day of action at the NACAC Championships.

Not necessarily in the stands at Varsity Stadium, where organizers expect to attract bigger crowds on Saturday, when stars like Jamaican sprinter ShellyAnn Brown compete.

But Friday’s competitions featured smaller-than-expected fields, as lineups — already depleted by elites who skipped the event entirely — experienced last-minute scratches.

So the women’s 5,000 metres, originally scheduled with four runners, posted a race-night start list featuring just three. The men’s 10,000 metres had just five confirmed runners, including one, Nicaragua’s Yasser Fernando Reyes, who hadn’t registered a seed time.

And the men’s and women’s 800-metre semifinals disappeared entirely. The remaining runners will proceed directly to Saturday afternoon’s final.

Some of the disappearing competitors had little hope of medalling. Puerto Rico’s Beverly Ramos pulled out of the women’s 5,000, but her past performances hinted that she’d finish nearly half a lap behind the three remaining runners.

But compatriot Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who scratched from both the women’s 200 metres and 100-metre hurdles, was a strong contender for at least one medal.

Among the competitors who reached the start line:

á Veteran Canadian Evan Dunfee took gold in the men’s 20kilometre race walk, covering the distance in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 39 seconds. Only four men started that race, and three finished. American Maria Mitcha-Coffey won the women’s race, finishing in one hour, 36 minutes, 34 seconds.

á Both Canadian women entered in the 400 metres qualified for Saturday’s final. Montreal’s Aiyanna Stiverne clocked 53.27 seconds to finish third in her heat. Madeline Price ran 53.24 and also finished third.

á Canada also had two men entered in the men’s 400, but both were eliminated.