CANADIAN ATHLETES INVADE LONDON LOOKING FOR GOLD
Five Canadian athletes to watch at the World Para Athletics Championships, which runs July 14-23 in London:
BRENT LAKATOS
The 37-year-old wheelchair racer from Dorval, Que. comes to London with eight world titles and a Paralympic gold medal from the T53 100 metres in Rio de Janeiro last summer.
Those credentials alone would make him a heavy favourite and a target for the opposition at the worlds. But he’s also on a serious hot streak, after posting five world-record times in a 10-day stretch at meets in Switzerland. At Nottwil in early June he won the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 metres, the latter in worldrecord time. He is now the fastest T53 racer on the globe at 100, 200, 800 and 1,500 metres.
He’ll race the 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 metres and will be a member of the 4x400-metre relay team in London. Lakatos, who was paralyzed at age six in a skating accident, began his Para career as a wheelchair hoops player. He made the switch to athletics in time for Athens 2004 and has been a member of Team Canada at three other Paralympic Games — Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. His medal haul at those Games is impressive: one gold, four silver, two bronze.
MARISSA PAPACONSTANTINOU
The worlds offer a shot at redemption for the 17-year-old from Toronto. She was disqualified from a 200-metre semifinal during her Paralympic Games debut last summer in Rio. She stepped out of her lane, and it was a tough lesson to learn on such an enormous stage.
“My big goal this year is to come back from (Rio),” she told Postmedia last week. “I’m still young. I’ve got to keep working, keep improving.”
She ran a 13.65-second time in the 100 metres in Rio, good for third in her heat, but not quick enough to advance. She’ll run the 100- and 200-metre heats in her T44 classification in London. Papaconstantinou was born without her right foot and began her athletics career at age 11, when she was fitted with her first running blade.
GUILLAUME OUELLET
He’s the reigning world champ in the T13 5,000 metres, and the Canadian record holder in the 1,500, so there is no denying the pedigree. Ouellet surely will have motivation in London, as he’ll want to improve on a solid, though unspectacular Paralympic performance.
He narrowly missed the Rio podium in the 5,000 metres, finishing fourth, and was ninth in the 1,500 metres in a Canadian record time of 3:57.98. He’ll compete in both events again at the worlds.
As a teenager, the Sorel, Que. native was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease. It left him with a 10-degree field of vision, enough to allow him to compete without a guide.
LIAM STANLEY
The two-time Canadian para-soccer player of the year converted to athletics just in time to win a silver medal at the Paralympics in Rio. His coach, former Canadian able-bodied marathoner Bruce Deacon, advised Stanley to prepare himself for the gruelling middle distances in case the national soccer team didn’t qualify for Rio. Good advice.
That’s exactly what happened, and Stanley made the most of the opportunity. The 20-year-old from Victoria hung with pre-race favourite Michael McKillop of Ireland for about 1,300 metres, then cruised to a silver-medal finish. Stanley will compete in both the T38 800 metres and the T37 1,500 metres at London.
ALISTER MCQUEEN
The 26-year-old from Calgary missed a Paralympic gold medal by less than the length of the javelin he was throwing. He set a Canadian record with a toss of 55.56 metres in the F44 event in Rio, but finished 1.76 metres behind Akeem Stewart of Trinidad and Tobago. It was McQueen’s first Paralympic medal.
He will be a medal favourite in London, though his 2017 body of work hasn’t lived up to his Paralympic level. He threw a season-high 50.16 metres to win the Caltaf Classic in his hometown June 18.
McQueen is a versatile athlete who also competed in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre sprints, as well as the discus and shot put, football, swimming, golf and was a member of Canada’s standing amputee hockey team, helping them win two world titles. He was born with a defect in his left leg and the limb was amputated when he was still an infant.
My big goal this year is to come back from (Rio). I’m still young. I’ve got to keep working, keep improving.