Passing
on the Pan Ams pays off; Stellingwerff qualifies for worlds
SCOTT STEPHENSON
For: www.theobserver.ca
- Saturday, July
21, 2007 -
Hilary Stellingwerff's
decision to pass up the Pan American Games in Brazil so she
could concentrate on qualifying for next month's World Track
and Field Championships turned out to be the right choice.
The Sarnia native's
victory in the 1,500 metre race on Saturday at the Canadian
National Track and Field Championships in Windsor earned her
a place on the Canadian team that will compete in Osaka, Japan,
Aug. 25-Sept. 2.
"I am very
excited and relieved that I'd done it (the time) before nationals
so I could focus on training and competing well at the championships.
It's one thing to know you are close to and capable of qualifying,
but it's another thing to actually qualify. So, it was quite
nerve racking coming into nationals knowing I just had to
'close the deal' so to speak," Stellingwerff, back home
in Switzerland, told The Observer.
Earlier this month
while competing on the Golden League circuit in Paris, Stellingwerff
achieved the Canadian "A" standard (4:07.0) she
needed to be eligible to represent Canada at the world championship
level when she set a personal best time of 4:05.69.
As a result, Stellingwerff
just needed to finish in the top three to qualify for the
Canadian team heading to Osaka.
Stellingwerff guaranteed
herself a spot on the national team going to Japan when she
edged out Malindi Elmore by half a second to claim the gold
medal in a time of 4:12.66.
Stellingwerff said
she was both excited and relieved when the race ended.
"We have some
very strong women's 1500m runners in Canada, which makes our
event one of the strongest for the country," said Stellingwerff,
noting Canada is sending three women to compete in the 1,500m
at the World Championships. That's the maximum number of athletes
an country can enter in a single event.
"Winning the
championship is very significant and special to me, especially
in Windsor as I had tons of family and friends there watching.
It was an amazing feeling crossing the line in first and looking
up into the stands to see my entire family and many friends
there," she said.
Adding, "it
was relief knowing that I had succeeded in fulfilling all
the criteria I needed to secure my spot for Worlds."
Still, Stellingwerff
admitted to being a little on edge entering the competition.
"Coming in
from Europe three days before, I was a bit nervous about being
jet lagged. In the qualifying rounds on Friday I didn't feel
so great, which made me very nervous going into the final.
But, I was very lucky because Dr. John Vargo, my chiropractor
from Sarnia, came down to Windsor and worked with me everyday
of the competition to make sure I was ready to go. The day
of the final, things came around and I felt pretty good coming
into the final stretch."
As Stellingwerff
expected, the 1,500m final was a tactical race.
"This race
was slow and tactical in the first half. My plan was just
to sit back and react to any moves made," Stellingwerff
said, explaining her strategy on the track. "My strength
is my kick or my finishing speed, so it isn't necessary for
me to lead or push the pace. There were a couple moves made
in the final two laps, but most significantly, my biggest
competitor Malindi Elmore picked up the pace with 400 metres
to go and I just followed and waited until the final straight
to make my move.
"When you
wait till the end, people have less time to react and come
back on you - it's more of a surprise. The defending champ
Carmen Douma-Hussar was out with an injury so I was expecting
that it would be a final race between Malindi and I in the
final lap but of course you never can discount anyone with
the young talent we have coming up. Malindi and I have been
back and forth all season racing in Europe together. We've
even been training together while she has stayed with us in
Switzerland. So I knew it would be tight, but I was ready
to work as hard as possible to make Saturday my day."
Stellingwerff said
she enjoyed running on Canadian soil again.
"It was awesome
coming back to Canada and running in familiar territory. I
haven't raced in Windsor since my SWOSSA days in high school,
and now it's a whole new facility. But it still felt so familiar
because I saw the same people there: same announcers, officials,
athletes very deja vu! And, I had tons of family and friends
who don't get to see me race much. My high school coach Mark
MacDonald was there, and my current coach and club from Guelph.
It was great. And Olympic Trials will be there next year so
I'm looking forward to going back."
Sunday, Stellingwerff
headed home to Lausanne, Switzerland with husband Trent who
works as an exercise physiologist for PowerBar, to begin training
for the World Championships.
In early August
Stellingwerff plans on competing in a Grand Prix meet in Stockholm,
then in mid-August will join the Canadian team in Singapore
for a brief training camp before heading to Osaka for the
World Championships.
Stellingwerff,
currently ranked 14th in the world, said her goal for Osaka
is to make the final (top 12).
"It will be
tough and I'll have to be on top of my game, but that's why
I need to get some good training in and then go to work in
Japan. I'm really excited to see what I can do," she
said.
Following the World
championships, Stellingwerff will continue training with a
further goal of making next year's Canadian Olympic Team.
"I have achieved
the "A+" (4:05.70) standard for the Olympics next
year, which is part of the qualifying criteria. But, I still
have to run another "A" standard next year and get
a top-three finish at nationals to solidify my spot on the
Olympic Team," she said.
Achieving the A+
standard this year is a huge advantage for Stellingwerff because
she won't have to gear up to try and run so fast early next
season. Instead, she can focus on peaking for the Olympics.
"The Olympics
has always been a dream for me so this is most definitely
something I'm pursuing," said Stellingwerff.
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