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Olympian, John Gay of Vancouver via the Okanagan, braved wind and rain in Portland last night to best a strong field of athletes in the 3000m steeplechase with his mark of 8:22.93 as he prepares for the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon this July. He set his personal best of 8:16.99 in the Olympic semifinal last summer in Tokyo, gaining the entry standard to the World Championships. His task now is to insure selection by qualifying in the top three at the National Championships in Langley next week. This may be a challenge as Ryan Smeeton of Calgary ran 8:20.06 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene last night. The Oklahoma State senior dipped under the World Championships qualification standard of 8:22.00. This now gets crowded in the steeplechase as Canadian record holder, Matthew Hughes of Toronto leads the qualifiers with his 8:13.56 in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Jean-Simon Desgagnes is a threat with his 2022 time of 8:22.95 only 0.95 seconds below the qualification
Rumours have it that John Gay may make the pace for fellow Olympian, Luc Bruchet at the Jerome Classic on Tuesday night in the 5000m. John did just at the Jerome last summer when Luc ran 13:12.56 and qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. His actions emphasize the team aspect of what is an individual sport. The mark needed to compete in Eugene is 13:13.50. Luc has had a big year already with his victories at the Vancouver Sun Run and National 10,000m title. The Jerome 5000m will be his first of the season.
The Jerome Classic on Tuesday will be the 7th stop of the NTF Tour. The Top Ten List was amplified as 9 performances from the Montreal Classic were added. The NTF Tour will move to Victoria and Kamloops.
NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD TOUR 2022 (NTF TOUR)
#1 Pacific Distance Festival May 14 Burnaby, BC
#2 Loaring Classic May 12 Windsor, ON
#3 Vigars Classic May 28, London, ON
#4 Montreal Classic June 5 Montreal, ON
#5 Inferno Classic June 8, Guelph, ON
#6 CALTAF Classic June 12 Calgary, AB
#7 Jerome Classic June 14 Burnaby, BC
#8 Victoria Classic June 16, Victoria, BC
#9 Kamloops Throws Festival June 18, Kamloops, BC
#10 National Championships June 22-26, Langley, BC
#11 Edmonton invitational July 3, Edmonton, AB
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