FIVE CALGARY AND AREA ATHLETES TO WATCH AT THE 2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:
1. JESSICA O’CONNELL
Athletics — 5,000m Age: 25 Club: University of Calgary Athletics Club Coach: Mike Van Tighem Twitter: @jess_oconnell Notable: Ran a breakthrough personal best in the 5,000m at May’s Payton Jordan Invitational (15:13.21) — which is the eighthfastest 5,000m ever recorded by a Canadian female ... Certified exercise physiologist ... Has overcome myriad injuries, including dislocating her shoulder after being hit by a car while crossing the street during her third of four years at West Virginia University ... Aiming to be a part of Team Canada for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Quotable: “I was shocked by my time,” she told the Calgary Herald of the Payton Jordan Invitational. “I was not expecting that at all. I was running faster than I thought and I thought, ‘Wow, I think I can keep this up, so I might as well try.’ And it worked out.”
Competes: Saturday, Aug. 2,
12:07 p.m.
2. NATHAN GAFUIK
Artistic Gymnastics Age: 29 Club: University of Calgary gymnastics centre Coach: Tony Smith Twitter: @gafuik_nathan Notable: Veteran of the team last competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2006, winning team gold with a squad that included Calgary gymnastics legend Kyle Shewfelt ... Gafuik has long dealt with Addison’s Disease — a rare chronic endocrine disorder ... Competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, finishing 46th on the high bars ... Lists his best events as parallel bars and high bars.
Quotable: “I ended up throwing out all of my gymnastics stuff at the (London Olympics),” Gafuik, who was going to quit the sport, told Gymnastics Canada in a recent interview. “Didn’t bring anything home with me. When I got home, I was definitely done with gymnastics for awhile. I really didn’t want anything to do with it. But I’ve been through so many struggles in my career, dealing with Addison’s Disease, dealing with injuries, dealing with everything. To finish like that was going to be a real cop-out. I deserved to go out the way I wanted to go out rather than being pushed out by something that was out of my control. So I started training again.”
Competes: Gymnastics events run from Monday, July 28 to Friday, Aug. 1
3. ELLEN PENNOCK
Triathlon Age: 21 Club: National Training Centre — Victoria Coach: James Turner Twitter: @LNpennock Notable: Rising star in the sport put herself on the international map at the 2013 world championships in London last fall when she finished second in the U23 category ... Was named performer of the year for 2013 by Triathlon Canada magazine, which put her on February’s cover ... Aiming for 2016 Olympics but 2020 might be a more realistic result ... Was 35th at a World Triathlon Series stop in London last month, not the result she was looking for, which prompted her to write in a blog post: “In the words of George Costanza, I’m going to pick myself up, dust myself off and throw myself right back down again.”
Quotable: “I want to be competitive,” she told the Herald about the Commonwealth Games. “It’ll be a good experience because I’m one of the youngest members of the team. I haven’t experienced a Games scenario yet, so that’ll be something ... just to know what to expect for the next step.”
Competes: Thursday, July 24, 4 a.m.
4. BROOKLYNN SNODGRASS
Swimming 50 BK, 100 BK Age: 20 Club: Cascade Swim Club Coach: Dave Johnson Twitter: @BSnodgrass04 Notable: Swimming for Indiana University, she pulled off a stunning upset over American record holder Elizabeth Pelton of California to win the women’s 200 backstroke at the NCAA Division 1 championships in March ... Her time of 1:50.52 was the ninth-fastest in NCAA history and led to her winning the Big Ten women’s swimmer of the year award ... Was sixth in the 100m backstroke at the 2011 world junior championships ... Her time of 1:00.23 in the 100m back at the 2014 Canadian trials is among the fastest in the world this year, giving her an outside shot at a podium in Glasgow.
Quotable: “I think (the Olympics) is the goal for any athlete who competes at the highest level anywhere, so I would love to make the national team and it’s definitely what I’m training for,” she told the Herald in 2013. “I wouldn’t count myself out; I think I have a shot at world trials and I hope the momentum will carry me there.”
Competes: Friday, July 25: 100 BK heats 4:33 a.m., semis 1:16 p.m.; Saturday, July 26: 100 BK final 1:44 p.m.; Monday, July 28: 50m BK heats 4:14 a.m., semifinal 1:05 p.m.; Tuesday, July 29: 50 BK final 12:31 p.m.
5. JAMES STEACY
Athletics — Hammer throw Age: 30 Club: Chinook Track & Field Club in Lethbridge Coach: Larry Steinke Twitter: @JimSteacy Notable: Two-time Olympian (2008 and 2012) holds the Canadian record in hammer throw with a toss of 79.13 metres (set in Lethbridge in 2008) ... Became first Canadian in 84 years to reach the Olympic hammer throw final when he did so in 2008 ... Won the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games with a toss of 74.75m in Melbourne, Australia ... Currently ranked atop the Commonwealth hammer throw rankings and is a favourite for gold in Scotland ... Won his 10th national championship last month in Moncton, N.B., with a toss of 74.68 metres.
Quotable: “Hammer is right up there with pole vaulting, if not a little bit more, as far as being the most difficult event in track and field,” Steacy told the Toronto Star in 2012. “Someone throwing a 16-pound steel ball over 80 metres, it’s just something that shouldn’t be possible to do.” “Safe and sound in Scotland! Time to get to work!,” Steacy tweeted on Sunday.
Competes: Monday, July 28: Qualifying 4:45 a.m., 5:55 a.m.; Tuesday, July 29: Final 1:50 p.m.