By Dan Marshall

Summer Holidays? Not for Nanaimo athletes in track and field or BMX

Aug 2, 2018 | 10:11 PM

NANAIMO — The middle of the summer is a quieter time for sports.

A lot of athletes are in their break period with things getting ramped up again in late August and September.

Last month was critical for Nanaimo track and field athletes with the BC Athletics Track and Field Championship Jamboree and the BC Games, and local BMX riders are fresh off the Harbour City Nationals at the Marie Davidson BMX Park. 

For Track and Field athletes like 15-year-old Olivia Lundman the summer has flown by but she has no regrets about the time spent training and competing.

The Lantzville native finished first in pole vault, first in 1500m race walk, and second in the hammer throw at the Jamboree in Coquitlam in mid July and then won gold in the 1500m race walk, silver in pole vault, and fourth in the hammer throw at the BC Games in Duncan.

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Her time of 7:22.41 in the race walk is a new BC Games record.

“The Summer Games was super fun, I wouldn’t trade other things in for that. And going to the nationals those are going to be the highlights of my summer so I don’t wish I was doing anything different,” said Lundman.

Olivia Lundman pole vault practice:

The National Youth Track and Field Championships are August 10-12 in Brandon Manitoba.

Nanaimo hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg will be going to Manitoba as well after a gold medal performance at the Jamboree, he’s going back for a second straight year after setting a meet record in Manitoba in 2017.

Madison Paugh was another local athlete who had massive success at the Jamboree and the BC Games.

The 15-year-old from Wellington Secondary won gold triple jump, silver in javelin, and fourth in long jump at provincials and followed that up with a gold medal in the triple jump and a bronze medal in the long jump at the BC Games.

Paugh says she met a alot of new people at the Games and called the event a great experience.

Even though Paugh didn’t get to go to nationals with Team BC she’s put herself on the map with some impressive first place finishes in 2018.

Here are some of the top results from Nanaimo area athletes at recent events:

BC Track and Field Championships Jamboree

Midget Men:
Nate Paris Silver Pentathlon 
Trent Perras Bronze Hammer, 5th Discus 

Midget Women:
Olivia Lundman Gold Pole Vault, Gold 1500m Race Walk, Silver Hammer 
Madison Paugh Gold Triple Jump, Silver Javelin, 4th Long Jump 
Sonya Urbanowicz Bronze Pole Vault, 4th Javelin 

Youth Men: 
Ethan Katzberg Gold Hammer

Youth Women:
Makayla Mitchell Silver Triple Jump, 8th Long Jump, 6th Javelin 
Julina Benjamin Bronze Pole Vault 

Junior Men: 
Steen Rassmussen Silver Pole Vault, 10th 100m

University Athletes: 
Jason Clare Gold Pole Vault 
Isaac Sandri Silver Javelin

BC Games

Olivia Lundman Gold Girls 1500m Race Walk, Silver Girls Pole Vault, 4th Girls Hammer

Madison Paugh Gold Girls Triple Jump, Bronze Girls Long Jump

Jackson Ali Gold Canoe/KayakBoys K-1 500m, Gold Canoe/KayakBoys K-1 2000m 

Carter Newton Gold Towed Water Sports Boys 14-17

—

The final weekend of July saw a packed Marie Davidson BMX Park.

There were competitors from ages three to 61 and all skill levels on the track for racing Friday through Sunday.

There were many local racers from Nanaimo, other parts of the province, the U.S., and even one rider from France.

Here’s a look in at some of the racing from Saturday July 28.

The Harbour City Nationals also raised $1700 for a fundraising project called Get Behind the Gate.

In total the initiative has raised $23,449 to go towards a much needed new starting gate and modification to the starting hill in time for the 2019 season.

The fundraising goal is $50,000 for all of the necessary work.

More information on the campaign is available at the Get Behind the Gate facebook page.

Harbour City Nationals – (local first place finishes ages 10+)

Day 1
15-16 Girls Cruiser
1 Ally Churko, Nanaimo, BC
 
36-40 Women Cruiser
1 Dallas Giles, Nanaimo, BC
 
21-25 Cruiser 
1 Darcy Glencross, Nanaimo, BC
 
61 & Over Cruiser
1 Greg (The Thrill) McGill, Nanaimo, BC
 
10 Intermediate
1 Tristin Phillips, Nanaimo, BC
 
11 Intermediate
1 Cooper Tilbury, Nanaimo, BC

Day 2
21-30 Women Cruiser
1 Ally Churko, Nanaimo, BC
 
36-40 Women Cruiser
1 Dallas Giles, Nanaimo, BC
 
26-30 Cruiser 
1 Darcy Glencross, Nanaimo, BC

61 & Over Cruiser
1 Greg (The Thrill) McGill, Nanaimo, BC
 
51 & Over Novice
1 William Vass, Nanaimo, BC
 
11 Intermediate 
1 Cooper Tilbury, Nanaimo, BC
 
Day 3
17-20 Women Cruiser 
1 Ally Churko, Nanaimo, BC
 
36-40 Women Cruiser 
1 Dallas Giles, Nanaimo, BC
 
26-30 Cruiser 
1 Darcy Glencross, Nanaimo, BC

61 & Over Cruiser
1 Greg (The Thrill) McGill, Nanaimo, BC
 
11 Intermediate
1 Cooper Tilbury, Nanaimo, BC

This time of year is sometimes referred to as the dog days of summer, but for many elite athletes around town July and August are anything but a holiday. 

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77