RAPID RODNEY
Sick mom spurs his Rio bid
Brendon Rodney considers himself a man’s man — a tough guy who never lets his emotions get the best of him.
But as he prepared for the biggest event of his life Sunday at the Canadian Olympic trials Rodney’s thoughts involuntarily drifted to his mom Nerissa watching via the Internet back home as she recovers from a near-fatal brain aneurysm.
“I cried before the race,” Rodney admitted afterward. “I was just filled with emotions.”
Channelling those emotions after a 90-minute rain delay, Rodney blasted out of the blocks. He heard the track announcer proclaim Aaron Brown as the leader and told himself, “OK. Let’s go.”
His legs churned faster, and he could hear the bellowing of his coach advising him to stay relaxed and not tense up.
He let it all go and surged past Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown to cross the finish line in a blazing-fast 19.96 seconds. Somehow, in between gasps for breath, he screamed a scream that could be heard blocks away and loudly begged the powers that be to declare the wind legal.
Turns out the wind was not a factor, meaning Rodney joins his good friend De Grasse as the only two Canadian men to ever break the 20-second barrier in the 200 metres.
In the afterglow of the fastest run of his life, Rodney credited his mom for propelling him to heights previously unimagined.
“She’s always supported me regardless of how she was feeling,” Rodney told a crowd of reporters. “I’m just happy that I could make her proud today. She’s at home right now watching. She’s cheering for me — probably jumped out of her bed right now. “I’m really happy “Athletics Canada is beyond happy with the performance of the Canadian men’s speed team here at Foote Field. In the 200 metres, Brown and De Grasse both crossed the line in 20.32 seconds. A photo finish determined Brown placed second, followed by De Grasse in third.
Throw Calgary’s Akeem Haynes in the mix, and Canada has a 4x100 relay team to be reckoned with — provided everyone holds onto the baton and stays in their lanes.
“We’re just showing the world Canada is back and we’re ready to run,” Rodney said. ”I’m happy for Andre. I’m happy for Aaron. Everyone’s been working hard and training well. We’re coming in shape for Rio, and this is when it counts.”
In the big picture, it didn’t count for much last month when Rodney finished a disappointing third at the NCAA Division I track and field championships. But his performance there, given the circumstances, was actually incredible.
Initially, he wanted to skip the event to see his mom before and after she was wheeled into the operating room. But Nerissa had other plans.
“I went to the NCAA championships the day of her surgery,” Rodney said. “I wasn’t sure if she was going to make it and neither were the doctors. That was one of the things that was really hard to deal with.
“But I made it through, and she made it. She’s strong. And I think I finished strong today, so I think I’m getting the strength from her.”
He plans to use that strength come Rio in his quest to advance to the final and, perhaps even contend for a medal.
“My mom is my everything,” he said.
“She’s doing a lot better. I’m proud of her. I thank God every day, and that’s just how it is.
“She’s able to walk, talk, eat, feed herself, cook and do everything that she was able to do prior to the aneurysm. But prior to the surgery, it was rough. Hard times.”
Isn’t funny how the hard times make the happy ones so much sweeter? * A gaggle of teenage girls swarmed Melissa Bishop Sunday as she attempted to walk off the track and find her family at the Canadian Olympic trials.
“Give her some space, please,” an Athletics Canada official said gently.
“Can I get a picture?” one girl asked, a race bib pinned to her chest.
“Can you sign my spikes?” inquired another.
Bishop smiled and posed for pictures. She signed shoes, shirts, and scraps of paper.
Bishop, 27, is one of the poster girls for the Canadian Olympic team headed for the 2016 Summer Game. The Eganville, Ont. native is the reigning world championship silver medallist in one of the deepest sporting events on the planet.
On Sunday, she simply took care of business, winning the 800-metre final by a margin of four seconds in 1:59.32.
“I’m on my way to Rio,” she shrieked, the sheer emotion of that pronouncement proving she took nothing for granted.
“There’s a little bit of pressure off your shoulders, because this is the hard part. Making the team is the hard part.
“When you get there, it’s just about showcasing your talent and the training you’ve been doing up to this point.”