Records for Moncton’s Lalonde and Ottawa’s Makinde at 2008 Legion Canadian Youth ChampionshipsSunday, August 10, 2008 SHERBROOKE, Que. – Genevieve Lalonde of Moncton, N.B., earned her second gold medal this weekend with a national youth record performance in the women’s 3,000 metres to conclude the 2008 Legion Canadian Youth Track and Field Championships. Lalonde, the 1,500 winner on Saturday, clocked 9:36.77 to eclipse the previous national youth record of 9:37.35 set by Emily Kroshus in 1999 and improved her personal best by 13 seconds. Kate Kujawa of Saskatoon was second in 9:59.97 and Stephanie Hulse of Kingston, Ont., third in 10:01.56. ‘’I was very confident going in that I would get a personal best but I didn’t think I’d break it by much,’’ said Lalonde, who turns 17 next month. ‘’My main focus was having a strong start and a strong finish. I got ahead early so I didn’t have to worry too much about tactics.’’ Lalonde has been running competitively on the track for three years. She represents the South East Athletics Club in Moncton and is coached by former Olympic runner Joel Bourgeois. ‘’Joel is the one that inspires me to keep going,’’ said Lalonde, who has competed for Canada at the world youth championships and world cross country running championships. ‘’I’ve made some big improvements this year and I’m excited about the future.’’ In the men’s 200 sprint, Oluwasegun Makinde of Ottawa broke the national youth record as well clocking 21.43 edging Philip Hayle of Brampton, Ont., by a mere 0.01 seconds. Makinde eclipsed Keynan Parker’s national youth mark of 21.44 set last year. ‘’I’ve been working on certain technical aspects of my race in the last year and that showed today,’’ said Makinde, 17, of the Ottawa Lions Club. ‘’I executed the race the way I had planned. The 200 is my best event and the one I train the most for.’’ As a youngster Makinde was more involved in soccer until track athletes at Colonel By High School in Ottawa noticed his running skills two years ago. ‘’Some guys on the track team at my school suggested I try out for their sport,’’ said Makinde. ‘’There’s been a lot of ups and down this season. My coach developed this race model recently and I’ve been focusing on that and it’s been a lot better.’’ Full results at http://athletics.ca/page.asp?id=295 |