News

Hilary claims silver at National Championships

June 28, 2009 - Canadian Track and Field Championsips, Toronto, CA

Courtesy of Guelph Mercury

It was an exciting weekend at the Canadian Championships with the women's 1500m providing a particularly exhilarating finish to the weekend festivities, coming down to a sprint finish among the top three competitors in the final straight.

In tactics that are typical to championship racing, the women's 1500m started off at pedestrian pace while competitors aligned themselves for the anticipated final lap sprint. Nicole Edwards, Malindi Elmore and Stellingwerff have shared the medals in this event for the past three years, with the latter two both claiming medals over the last five years, and 2009 was no different.

The trio separated themselves from the main pack over the final lap, with Elmore making the first move to the front and the other two covering it closely. Running the final 300m in around 43 seconds, all three women showed their strength, but it was Elmore who was the best on the day, cutting the tape for the gold. Stellingwerff edged out Edwards for the silver.

"Obviously I was aiming to defend the title today, but I fought until the end and gave it everything today so I have to be happy with the silver. Malindi has been really strong all season and I know if I'm closing the gap I'm ready to run fast. Today was really exciting, I feel all three of us have the potential to be in Berlin at the World Championships this year," said Stellingwerff.

All three women will head to Europe with the world standard on their mind - they will need to run below 4:06.00 to qualify for the Canadian Team in Berlin.

See full results of the Canadian Track and Field Championships here.

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