Canadian and World Championships records fall as Foessel and Lakatos claim bronze and gold on Day 6

Story by Athletics Canada

DUBAI – It couldn’t have played out any better for Renee Foessel on Tuesday, as almost every throw during the women’s discus throw F38 final landed on the field as a personal-best and Canadian record.

Foessel made a statement right from the start of competition, throwing a personal-best 31.49 metres, surpassing her own record of 31.46 from 2016. She would continue to improve that mark with her second and third throws before going the distance with a huge 33.37 metres to catapult her to the bronze medal.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Foessel said. “I couldn’t have imagined an outcome like this. I’m very happy, satisfied and proud of our performances today. I’m going to remember the moments like these and it wouldn’t be without the support of my coach, my family, friends, fellow athletes, all of Canada behind us, there’s no words.”

Fellow Canadian Jenn Brown wasn’t far behind in, finishing in sixth place after putting up a personal-best throw of 31.68 metres. “That’s a two-metre personal-best, which I threw before Rio, so two-metres for both of us today was fantastic,” Brown added.

Brent Lakatos was back on the track for round one of the men’s 800-metres competition after racing in the 1500-metre event yesterday. All business until the very end as Lakatos came around the last curve picking off three other athletes to win Heat 2 in a time of 1:38.38, breaking the World Championships 800-metre record previously held at 1:39.09.

Surprised when that he set the Championship record, the Dorval-native took the momentum into the final. Lakatos didn’t hold anything back as he charged through down the straightaway, stopping the clock at 1:40.59 to claim his 13th career World Championships gold medal.

“That race went exactly as I’d hoped it would. There were a few strategies going in, keep the Thailand guy boxed in behind me and it worked perfectly,” Lakatos said. “This is definitely more fun, the 100-meter, any little mistake and it’s over. This one takes a lot more to win it, so it’s nice.”

Ness Murby and Ljiljana Ljubisic got things started in the F11 discus throw final on Day 6, and didn’t disappoint. Murby kept the best for last as her throw measured out to a season’s best, 29.41 metres to place her in sixth place overall. Ljubisic was right behind her teammate, with a throw of 26.62 metres.

On the straightaway, Marissa Papaconstantinou and Madison Wilson-Walker got set into the blocks for the women’s 100-metres qualifying heats. Wilson-Walker, coming off her long jump performance the day before, raced to a time of 14.98 for fifth in her heat, while Papaconstantinou came through the finish line with a time of 13.42 for fourth place in Heat 2.

After a few days away from competition, Jessica Frotten was back on the track for the women’s 800-metre T53 final, where she placed seventh, finishing the two laps around the track in 2:02.74.

Austin Ingram will get his first World Athletics Championships started tomorrow morning in the men’s 100-metre T13 heats. Brent Lakatos and Josh Cassidy return to the track for round one of the men’s 5,000-metres before Amanda Rummery does the same in the women’s 200-metre T47 heats.

In the afternoon session, it’s Kevin Strybosch’s turn in the discus circle as he competes in the men’s discus F37 final. Diane Roy and Jessica Frotten will race in the women’s 5,000-metres T54 final.

The World Para Athletics Championships are the largest Para sport event to be held before the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and run from November 7 to 15 in Dubai. More than 1,400 athletes from almost 120 nations are competing. 

Viewers will be able to follow the action via the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and CPC Facebook page, as well as the Radio-Canada Sports app and radio-canada.ca/sports.

For the broadcast schedule, please visit Paralympic.ca/Paralympic-Super-Series.