Athletics Canada nominates 46 athletes to Canada's 2018 Commonwealth Games team

OTTAWA, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Athletics Canada announced today the 46 athletes (including one guide) who have been nominated to represent Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games taking place in Gold Coast, Australia, from April 4-15. The team, comprised of 20 women and 26 men, will be focused on contributing to the overall Canadian medal count and bettering its total of 17 podium finishes (five gold, two silver and 10 bronze) from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Diane Roy - Photo: Athletics Canada (CNW Group/Commonwealth Games Association of Canada)

"Athletics Canada has put together a strong and talented team that features a number of Commonwealth Games veterans and athletes who have taken great strides in our NextGen Program," said head coach Glenroy Gilbert. "We are going to the Gold Coast to compete and to compete well. It's an early start to the season for Canadian athletes, but we are going down there to do a job and that's to perform."

The Canadian contingent heading to Gold Coast features 17 veteran track and field athletes and 29 first-time Commonwealth Games participants. Of the 17 athletes who competed in Glasgow in 2014, 10 stood on the podium, including decathlete Damian Warner (gold) and wheelchair racer Diane Roy (silver T54 1500-metres) who hope to repeat or better their success in 2018 alongside their Canadian teammates.

"It's always an honour to be selected to compete for Canada. I had a great time at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and look forward to defending my decathlon title in the Gold Coast this April," said Damian Warner, 2014 gold medallist in the decathlon. "The 2018 Commonwealth Games present a great competitive opportunity for our veteran and less-experienced teammates. The last Commonwealth Games played a big role in helping me acquire the skills and experience needed to be on the podium in Rio. Athletes don't get many opportunities to compete in a multi-sport games, so the chance to live in a village, compete in a big stadium and go up against top international competition is invaluable."

"As an athlete, there's something different and special about the Commonwealth Games. It has a very inclusive spirit as the para-athletes share training facilities, compete in the same stadium and live in the village with all of the other athletes and teams from the Commonwealth," said Diane Roy, three-time Commonwealth Games medallist. "Our medals are part of the overall medal count and I take a lot of pride in that. I enjoyed competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and look forward to returning to Australia to represent Canada this spring."

"We are thrilled to see so many returning athletes from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, including 10 who were on the podium," said Canada's Chef de Mission Claire Carver-Dias. "The athletics team will be a leader for our 2018 Canadian team in the Gold Coast, both in size and in experience, and I look forward to supporting each athlete named today in their quest for the podium."

The Commonwealth Games serve as a vital component of an athlete's development. Nine athletes, in addition to the men's 4 x 100-metre relay team, placed in the Top 8 at the 2017 IAAF World Championships, therefore, Canadians and track and field fans around the world can expect to see a number of breakout performances in Gold Coast that will lead to positive results in Tokyo at the Olympic/Paralympic Games in 2020.

"The Commonwealth Games have always been a foundation, a stepping stone, to the World Championships and Olympic/Paralympic Games. They bring together a great group of athletes, you run into very talented people at the Commonwealth Games," said Gilbert. "Though friendly in nature, competition is competition, people are going down there to win medals. However, the Commonwealth Games also give us an opportunity to expose some of our younger athletes to an international competition, to look at our relay team and at a different formation of that team. It presents an opportunity to learn and to compete at a high level."

Athletics competition will be held at Carrara Stadium, except for race walk (Currumbin Beachfront) and the men's and women's marathon (Southport Broadwater Parklands).

The list of Canadian track and field athletes nominated to the 2018 Commonwealth Games team includes:

Athletics
Name	Hometown	Club affiliation	Coach	Event(s)
Mohammed Ahmed*	St. Catharines, Ont.	Niagara Olympic Club	Jerry Schumacher	Men's 5000-metres
Shawnacy Barber**	Toronto	Project Athletics	Jeff Hartwig	Men's pole vault
Aaron Brown*	Toronto	Phoenix Athletics	Dennis Mitchell	Men's 200-metres Men's 4 x 100-metre relay
Rachel Cliff	Vancouver	Unattached	Richard Lee	Women's 10,000-metres
Brittany Crew	Toronto	SISU Throws Club	Richard Parkinson	Women's shot put
Andre De Grasse*	Markham, Ont.	The Speed Academy Athletics Club	Stuart McMillan	Men's 200-metres Men's 4 x 100-metre relay
Evan Dunfee	Richmond, B.C.	Racewalk West	Gerald Dragomir	Men's 20 km race walk
Sam Effah	Calgary	University of Calgary Athletics Club	Desai Williams	Men's 4 x 100-metre relay
Crystal Emmanuel*	Toronto	Flying Angels	Charles Allen	Women's 200-metres
Sultana Frizell**	Perth, Ont.	Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club	Sheldan Gmitroski	Women's hammer throw
Elizabeth Gleadle*	Vancouver	Vancouver Thunderbirds	Laurier Primeau	Women's javelin throw
Matthew Hughes*	Oshawa, Ont.	Newmarket Huskies	Jerry Schumacher	Men's 3000-metres steeplechase
Adam Keenan	Victoria	Kamloops Track and Field Club	Anatoliy Bondarchuk	Men's hammer throw
Geneviève Lalonde	Moncton, N.B.	Speed River	Dave Scott-Thomas	Women's 3000-metres steeplechase
Pierce LePage	Whitby, Ont.	Unattached	Gregory Portnoy	Men's decathlon
Django Lovett	Surrey, B.C.	Valley Royals Track & Field Club	Zbigniew Szelagowicz	Men's high jump
Michael Mason**	Nanoose Bay, B.C.	Nanaimo Track and Field Club	Jeff Huntoon	Men's high jump
Brandon McBride*	Windsor, Ont.	Windsor Legion	Chris Scarrow	Men's 800-metres
Tim Nedow**	Brockville, Ont.	Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club	Richard Parkinson	Men's shot put
Christabel Nettey**	Surrey, B.C.	Unattached	Jeremy Fischer	Women's long jump
Anicka Newell	Saskatoon	Project Athletics	Cameron Meyer	Women's pole vault
Alysha Newman**	London, Ont.	Bolton Pole Vault	Doug Wood	Women's pole vault
Nicole Oudenaarden	St. Albert, Alta.	University of Calgary Athletics Club	Les Gramantik	Women's heptathlon
Brendon Rodney	Brampton, Ont.	HEAT Athletics	Simon Hodnett	Men's 4 x 100-metre relay
Nina Schultz	New Westminster, B.C.	New West Spartans Track and Field Club	Cliff Rovelto	Women's heptathlon
Gavin Smellie	Brampton, Ont.	Flying Angels	Desai Williams	Men's 4 x 100-metre relay
Gabriela Stafford	Toronto	University of Toronto Track and Field Club	Terry Radchenko	Women's 1500-metres
Taylor Stewart	London, Ont.	London Western	Vickie Croley	Men's decathlon
Taryn Suttie	Hanley, Sask.	Unattached	Justin Rodhe	Women's shot put
Deryk Theodore	Edmonton	Edmonton International Track Club	Mark Cocks	Men's pole vault
Benjamin Thorne	Kitimat, B.C.	Racewalk West	Gerald Dragomir	Men's 20 km race walk
Alyxandria Treasure	Prince George, B.C.	Prince George Track & Field Club	Cliff Rovelto	Women's high jump
Damian Warner**	London, Ont.	London Western	Les Gramantik	Men's decathlon
Sage Watson	Medicine Hat, Alta.	Unattached	Fredrick Harvey	Women's 400-metre hurdles
Jillian Weir	Kingston, Ont.	Unattached	Zeb Sion	Women's hammer throw
Angela Whyte**	Edmonton	APEX Athletics Club	Jeff Huntoon	Women's heptathlon
Natasha Wodak	North Vancouver, B.C.	Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club	Lynn Kanuka	Women's 10,000-metres
Para-Athletics
Name	Hometown	Club affiliation	Coach	Event(s)
David Bambrick	Wolfville, N.S.	Launchers Athletics	Steve Wohlmuth	Men's shot put F37
Alexandre Dupont**	Clarenceville, Que.	Club d'Athlétisme Saint-Laurent Sélect	Rick Reelie	Men's 1500-metre T54 Men's marathon T54
Jessica Frotten	Whitehorse	Cyclones Road and Track Club	Rick Reelie	Women's 1500-metres T54
Adam Johnson	Toronto	I Be Fast Track Club	Craig Blackman	Guide
George Quarcoo	Scarborough, Ont.	I Be Fast Track Club	Craig Blackman	Men's 100-metres T12
Diane Roy**	Sherbrooke, Que.	Club Athlétisme de Sherbrooke	Jean Laroche	Women's marathon T54 Women's 1500-metres T54
Tristan Smyth	Maple Ridge, B.C.	BC Wheelchair Sports	Jenn Schutz	Men's 1500-metres T54
Kevin Strybosch	London, Ont.	London Western	John Allan	Men's shot put F37
Kyle Whitehouse	St. Catharines, Ont.	Niagara Regional Athletics	Sue Bartol	Men's 100-metres T38
Staff
Name	Hometown	Role
Glenroy Gilbert	Ottawa	Head coach
Simon Nathan	Ottawa	Team leader
Jared MacLeod	Winnipeg	Team manager
Jessica Scarlato	Richmond Hill, Ont.	Team manager
Ingrid Ruys	Sherwood Park, Alta.	Team manager - out of village
Charles Allen	Toronto	Team coach
Dave Scott-Thomas	Guelph	Team coach
Doug Wood	London, Ont.	Team coach
Jeff Huntoon	Toronto	Team coach
Richard Parkinson	Stouffville, Ont.	Team coach
Larry Steinke	Lethbridge, Alta.	Team coach
Les Gramantik	Calgary	Team coach
Rick Reelie	Saskatoon	Team coach
Dr. Padraig McCluskey	Victoria	Team physician
Andrea Stephen	Toronto	Team physiotherapist
Dr. John Vargo	Sarnia, Ont.	Team chiropractor
Danielle Chow-Leong	Toronto	Team massage therapist
Eric Corda	Sarnia, Ont.	Team massage therapist
Dr. Penny Werthner	Calgary	Team mental performance
Dana Way	Winnipeg Beach, Man.	Team biomechanist
Amanda Nigh	Uxbridge, Ont.	Media attaché

*Member of the 2014 Commonwealth Games team
**Denotes a podium finish in 2014

Please note all nominations are subject to the approval of Commonwealth Games Canada and pending any successful appeals during the seven-day period following the unofficial team announcement.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will take place April 4-15 in Gold Coast, Australia, and will feature more than 4,000 athletes from 70 different countries. The entire Canadian team will be officially announced by Commonwealth Games Canada in March. For more information on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, please visit www.gc2018.com.

About Athletics Canada
Athletics Canada (AC) is the National Sport Governing Body for track and field, road running and cross country. The organization's vision is to provide world leading programs and services in athletics and to be recognized domestically and internationally for its commitment to: providing a positive experience through sport that develops physical literacy and a love of athletics; systematically developing world class athletes who achieve podium success internationally; and providing opportunities for participants to remain active and competitive through all stages of life. Visit www.athletics.ca for more information.

About Commonwealth Games Canada
Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) is the international franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth movement in Canada, and an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community. The mission of CGC is to strengthen sport within Canada and throughout the Commonwealth by participating in the Commonwealth Games and by using sport as a development tool. Visit www.commonwealthgames.ca for information.

Our thanks to Cision for sponsoring this announcement

SOURCE Commonwealth Games Association of Canada

For interview requests and more information on Athletics Canada, please contact: Amanda Nigh, Manager, Communications and Marketing - Athletics Canada, [email protected]; Jim McDannald, Coordinator, Communications - Athletics Canada, [email protected]; For addition information on the Gold Coast 2018 Canadian Team or Commonwealth Games Canada, please contact: Sylvie Bigras, Communications Chief, Team Canada - Gold Coast 2018, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.commonwealthgames.ca