CALGARY – Melissa Fraser battled windy conditions to win the women’s javelin competition at the Canadian track and field championship on Friday.
Fraser of Hillsburgh, Ont., won gold with a throw of 50.25 metres to edge out second-place finisher Elizabeth Gleadle (50.18m) of Vancouver.
“The wind kept changing,” said Fraser of the tough throwing conditions. “It was a head wind, then it was a tail wind, then it was a cross wind. You couldn’t win today.”
But Fraser did just that and her second of six throws was good enough to beat out Gleadle and defending champion and Canadian record holder Krista Woodward of New Westminster, B.C., who finished in fifth.
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“It’s always fun to compete against somebody who you have to rise up to try and beat them,” Fraser said. “It’s a little bit intimidating, but it’s a motivating factor when you go into competition.”
In men’s discus, Brent Roubos of Hawkestone, Ont., finished first with a toss of 53.35 metres slightly ahead of second-place finisher Marc-Antoine Dugas (51.16m) of Sherbrooke, Que.
In men’s pole vault, Toronto’s Jason Wurster cleared the bar at 5.25 metres to finish first ahead of Saskatoon’s Taylor Petrucha and Ryan Vu of Surrey, B.C., who both jumped 5.15 metres.
Ben Warnock of Windsor, Ont., won the men’s long jump competition with a leap of 7.61 metres to edge out second-place finisher Christopher Greenaway (7.52m) of Brossard, Que.
The event continues on Friday night with several more events including the men’s 100 metres where Calgary’s Sam Effah will attempt to defend his title.
The championships, featuring almost 600 athletes, conclude Saturday at the refurbished Foothills Athletic Park adjacent to McMahon Stadium.
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