OTTAWA – Six months after having her first baby, hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep will return to competition this weekend.
The Whitby, Ont., native will run the 60-metre hurdles at an event in Sherbrooke, Que., on Saturday.
She will face off against teammates Phylicia George of Markham, Ont., and Nikkita Holder of Pickering, Ont., as well as Laval, Que., native Marie-Eve Dugas and Ashlea Maddex of Ottawa.
Lopes-Schliep gave birth to daughter Nataliya in September.
The star hurdler – a bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics and the world’s No. 1-ranked hurdler in 2010 – is considered a medal contender at this summer’s London Games.
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She says she’s looking forward to being back in competition.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a track with such a competitive group,” she said Thursday in a statement. “I’ll face some of the best in the world on Saturday, and anything can happen. It’s an important step towards my objective to represent Canada at the London Olympic Games and get a medal.”
Canada boasts some of the world’s top hurdlers and competition should be fierce leading up to the London Olympics. Veteran Perdita Felicien and Lopes-Schliep are the best of four or five Canadian women’s hurdlers who will battling not just for Games glory in London, but a spot on the team itself.
The women’s hurdles will be the most-watched event of Canada’s Olympic trials in Calgary in June, with as many as five hurdlers fighting for three berths in London.
Saturday’s race will also be significant for George, who is looking to break 8.00 seconds to punch her ticket to next month’s world indoor championships in Turkey.
“It’s a blessing that the organizers have accommodated us,” she said. “I’m only two hundredths of a second from a ticket to the world indoor championships, and I’ll get my chance to get it with three of my training partners pushing me.”
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