Theisen-Eaton, Merritt added to Classic lineup
Canadian hept athlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton, who won the silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, and 2008 Olympic 400-metre champion LaShawn Merritt have confirmed they will compete at the Edmonton International Track Classic (EITC) on July 6.
Theisen-Eaton, of Humboldt, Sask., set the Canadian heptathlon record of 6,641 points three weeks ago in Gotzis, Austria, where she finished second. Earlier this season, she set the Canadian record for the indoor pentathlon.
Theisen-Eaton competed for Canada in her multievent discipline at the 2012 Summer Games in London, where she finished 11th.
Merritt is the top-ranked 400-metre sprinter in the world after winning his specialty at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow. He brings a personal best time of 43.74 seconds, the fifth fastest 400-metre time ever run, to the EITC.
Merritt has won gold in the last four World Championships in either the 400 metres or the 4x400m relay.
Canadian sprinter Aaron Brown, part of Canada’s 4x100-metre relay team that won bronze at the 2013 World Championships, has also confirmed he will compete in Edmonton. Brown will run in the 200 metres against Jamaican sprinter Warren Weir and U.S. veteran Wallace Spearman.
Organizers have assembled another strong field for this year’s EITC, including Canadian high jumper Derek Drouin, a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics, 100-metre hurdler Angela Whyte of Edmonton, along with 400-metre runners Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic, silver medallist in London, and Francena McCrory of the U.S. This year’s edition will feature 175 athletes, including 17 who have won medals at the Olympics or World Championships. Athletes from 13 countries will compete in 16 events at the University of
Alberta’s Foote Field.