While athletics fans in Canada look forward to the 2019 World Athletics Championships that will be taking place in Doha, Qatar, starting Sept. 27, they have another international championships to enjoy, the 2019 Lima Pan American Games starting July 26.
The Pan Ams team, named by Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, includes 19 men and 27 women. Canada will look to improve on its 27 podium finishes (11 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze) from the Toronto 2015 edition.
Eighteen of those Toronto games athletes are returning, while the balance of 28 are new to the team. Seven of the 18 earned a medal in 2015, which includes decathlete Damian Warner (gold) and steeplechaser Geneviève Lalonde (bronze).
According to Athletics Canada the Pan Am Games is a vital component towards development, as was seen in 2015 with breakout performances by Rio 2016 triple Olympic medallist Andre De Grasse (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay), World silver medallist Melissa Bishop (800m), World Champion Shawn Barber (pole vault) and Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Derek Drouin (high jump). Although it could be argued that the above-named athletes would have performed just as well regardless of how 2015 went.
Peaking twice in one season may be a difficult task, but the ultimate goal is to field the best possible athletics team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – both meets are developmental towards Tokyo.
Interestingly, the national championships will be taking place in Montreal on the same weekend, a primary meet for Doha selection. The USATF nationals will also be going on during that same weekend in Des Moines, IA.
The list of Canadian track and field athletes, coaches and staff selected to the 2019 Pan American Games team includes:
| Athletes | ||||
| Name | Event(s) | Personal Coach | Hometown | Club Affiliation |
| Kelsie Ahbe | Women’s pole vault | Jim Bemiller | Toronto, Ont. | Unattached |
| Mobolade Ajomale | Men’s 100m, 4x100m relay | Kevin Lasure | Thornhill West, Ont. | Flying Angels Track & Field Academy |
| Marco Arop | Men’s 800m | Ron Thompson | Edmonton, Alta. | Voleo Athletics |
| Ashlan Best | Women’s 4x100m relay | Gabe Sanders | Guelph, Ont. | Speed River Track and Field Club |
| Mathieu Bilodeau | Men’s 50km race walk | David Gagnon | Canmore, Alta. | Unattached |
| Khamica Bingham* | Women’s 4x100m relay | Dennis Shaver | Brampton, Ont. | Brampton Track Club |
| Jerome Blake | Men’s 200m, 4x100m relay | Tara Self | Vancouver, B.C. | Coquitlam Cheetahs Track and Field Club |
| Maïté Bouchard | Women’s 800m | Simon Croteau | Sherbrooke, Que. | Athlétisme Sherbrooke |
| Leya Buchanan | Women’s 100m, 4x100m relay | John Smith | Mississauga, Ont. | Unattached |
| Lindsey Butterworth | Women’s 800m | Brit Townsend | North Vancouver, B.C. | Coastal Track Club |
| Johnathan Cabral* | Men’s 110m hurdles | Tim O’Neil | Peribonka, Que. | Unattached |
| Keira Christie-Galloway | Women’s 100m hurdles | Hugh Conlin | Ottawa, Ont. | Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club |
| Rachel Cliff | Women’s 10,000m | Richard Lee | Vancouver, B..C | Mile2Marathon |
| Kyra Constantine | Women’s 400m, 4x400m relay | Caryl Smith Gilbert | Brampton, Ont. | Project Athletics Track and Field Program |
| Brittany Crew | Women’s shot put | Richard Parkinson | Toronto, Ont | SISU Throws Club |
| Evan Dunfee* | Men’s 50km race walk, 20km race walk | Gerald Dragomir | Richmond, B.C. | Racewalk West |
| Georgia Ellenwood | Heptathlon | Nate Davis | Langley, B.C. | Langley Mustangs Track and Field Club |
| Crystal Emmanuel* | Women’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay | Charles Allen | Toronto, Ont. | Flying Angels Track & Field Academy |
| Ben Flanagan | Men’s 10,000m | Chris Fox | Kitchener, Ont. | Unattached |
| Phylicia George* | Women’s 100m hurdles, 4x100m relay | Darryl Woodson | Markham, Ont. | Flying Angels Track & Field Academy |
| Liz Gleadle* | Women’s javelin | Laurier Primeau | Vancouver, B.C. | Vancouver Thunderbirds Track & Field Club |
| Travia Jones | Women’s 4x400m relay | Darryl Woodson | Regina, Sask. | Unattached |
| Geneviève Lalonde* | Women’s 3000m steeplechase | Dave Scott-Thomas | Moncton, N.B. | Speed River Track and Field Club |
| Pierce LePage | Men’s decathlon | Gregory Portnoy | Whitby, Ont. | Unattached |
| Rory Linkletter | Men’s 10,000m | Ed Eyestone | Calgary, Alta. | Unattached |
| Django Lovett | Men’s high jump | Zbigniew Szelagowicz | Surrey, B.C. | Kajaks Track & Field Club |
| Michael Mason* | Men’s high jump | Jeff Huntoon | Nanoose Bay, B.C. | Nanaimo Track and Field Club |
| Brandon McBride* | Men’s 800m | Kurt Downes | Windsor, Ont. | Border City Athletics Club |
| Natassha McDonald | Women’s 400m, 4x400m relay | Wellesley Johnson | Brampton, Ont. | Project Athletics Track and Field Program |
| Sarah Mitton | Women’s shot put | Richard Parkinson | Brooklyn, N.S. | SISU Throws Club |
| Tim Nedow* | Men’s shot put | Darrin Reesal | Brockville, Ont. | Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club |
| Christabel Nettey* | Women’s long jump | Stuart McMillan | Surrey, B.C. | Unattached |
| Alysha Newman | Women’s pole vault | Doug Wood | Delaware, Ont. | Bolton Pole Vault |
| Jessica O’Connell* | Women’s 5000m | Mike Van Tighen | Brampton, Ont. | University of Calgary Athletics Club |
| William Paulson | Men’s 1500m | Cory Leslie | Quebec, Que. | Club d’Athlétisme de l’Université Laval |
| Brendon Rodney* | Men’s 200m, 4x100m relay | Maurice Wilson | Etobicoke, Ont. | Unattached |
| Camryn Rogers | Women’s hammer throw | Mohamad Saatara | Richmond, B.C. | Kajaks Track & Field Club |
| Andrea Seccafien | Women’s 5000m | Nic Bideau | Guelph, Ont. | Monarch Athletics Club |
|
Ryan Smeeton | Men’s 3000m steeplechase | Dave Smith | Calgary, Alta. | Unattached |
| Gavin Smellie* | Men’s 100m, 4x100m relay | Milt Ottey | Brampton, Ont. | Flying Angels Track & Field Academy |
| Aiyanna Stiverne | Women’s 200m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay | Ronald Morency | Laval, Que. | Unattached |
| Damian Warner* | Men’s decathlon, 4x100m relay | Gar Leyshon | London, Ont. | Unattached |
| Sage Watson* | Women’s 400m hurdles, 4x400m relay | Fred Harvey | Medicine Hat, Alta. | Unattached |
| Jillian Weir | Women’s hammer throw | Larry Steinke | Kingston, Ont. | Unattached |
| Natasha Wodak* | Women’s 10,000m | Lynn Kanuka | North Vancouver, B.C. | Prairie Inn Harriers |
| Regan Yee | Women’s 3000m steeplechase | Mark Bomba | South Hazelton, B.C. | Langley Mustangs Track and Field Club |
| Coaches and Staff | ||||
| Name | Role | Hometown | ||
| Glenroy Gilbert | Team Head Coach | Ottawa, Ont. | ||
| Charles Allen | Team Coach | Toronto, Ont. | ||
| Kurt Downes | Team Coach | Windsor, Ont. | ||
| Heather Hennigar | Team Coach | Victoria. B.C. | ||
| Jeff Huntoon | Team Coach | Toronto, Ont. | ||
| Richard Parkinson | Team Coach | Stouffville, Ont. | ||
| Larry Steinke | Team Coach | Lethbridge, Alta. | ||
| Mike Van Tighem | Team Coach | Summerland, B.C. | ||
| Simon Nathan | Team Leader | Ottawa, Ont. | ||
| Jared MacLeod | Team Manager | Winnipeg, Man. | ||
| Jessica Scarlato | Team Manager | Richmond Hill, Ont. | ||
| Andrea Stephen | Team IST Lead and Physiotherapist | Toronto, Ont. | ||
| Dr. Melina Thibodeau | Team Physician | Victoria, B.C. | ||
| Danielle Chow-Leong | Team Massage Therapist | Toronto, Ont. | ||
| Eric Corda | Team Massage Therapist | Sarnia, Ont. | ||
| Dr. Simon Pearson | Team Chiropractor | Victoria, B.C. | ||
| Dana Way | Team Biomechanist | Winnipeg Beach, Man. | ||
*Represented Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games
Lima 2019, which will run from July 26 to Aug. 11, will bring together approximately 6,700 athletes from 41 nations of the Americas and feature 62 disciplines in 39 sports. It will be the largest sporting event ever held in Peru.
For more on the 2019 Pan American Games, visit www.olympic.ca/games/lima-2019.
