Dunbar and Smeenk claim double gold at Canadian Track and Field Championships

OTTAWA- Paralympic champion Austin Smeenk and rising star Chloe Dunbar each won two gold medals in Para events at the Canadian Track and Field Championships this past weekend in Ottawa.

The 17-year-old Dunbar from Windsor, N.S., set personal bests in both her 100-metre and 200-metre women’s standing races.  She clocked a personal-best 12.27 seconds to defeat fellow T47 athlete Sheriauna Haase in the 100 metres and followed that with a 25.22 performance in the 200.

“I had a really good start and got off strong,” Dunbar said of her 200-metre race Sunday. “As I came through the turn, I was thinking, ‘Hammer it down and hold it to the end.’’

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While she won in the sunshine on Sunday, heavy rains affected Friday’s competition at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility.

“It’s raining outside and a little cold, but I was really happy with my race,’’ said Dunbar, about her 100.  ‘’I started off strong and then as I built up, my top end came together.’’

Smeenk, from Oakville, Ont., showed his versatility with gold in the men’s wheelchair 100-metre on Saturday and the 800-metre on Sunday. It was in the 800 that he won his Paralympic Games gold in 2024 as well as the bronze in the 100.

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Dante Cormier of Moncton, N.B., who competed alongside Smeenk earlier this season at Grand Prix events in Switzerland and won the 400 metres in Ottawa on Friday, finished second to Smeenk in both events.

Maitlan Knoke of Saskatoon added the men’s seated shotput crown on Saturday to his discus title on Wednesday.

Paralympic Para cycling medallist Kate O’Brien of Calgary made her national track championships debut, winning the women’s 100-metre frame-running event and the seated shot put.

Frame running is growing fast internationally and will be included on the program for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

‘’Frame running has been around since 2019 and it is very exciting,’’ O’Brien, also an Olympian in cycling in 2016, told CBC’s Devin Heroux. ‘’A friend of mine felt that with my background I was a perfect candidate for this event.  I got classified in February. So I’ll give it a go and see how it goes.’’

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Next on the schedule for many of the Canadian Para athletes are either the Commonwealth Games or a European competition tour, both taking place next month.

For more information on the Canadian Track and Field Championships including results visit HERE