Athletics Canada names 2018 Commonwealth Games team
A crop of 46 Canadian athletes have been nominated to the 2018 Commonwealth Games team
Athletics Canada announced Tuesday the national team nominations for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
A total of 46 athletes have been named to represent Canada at the April 4-15 event in Gold Coast, Australia in what is expected to be one of the largest athletics competitions of the year. Notable runners on the team include Andre De Grasse, Mohammed Ahmed, Crystal Emmanuel, Sage Watson and Damian Warner, who won gold in the decathlon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
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De Grasse is currently listed in the men’s 200m though Athletics Canada notes that “specific event entries for each athlete could be subject to change based on field sizes and other factors.”
The Commonwealth Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. Canada is coming off a 2017 IAAF World Championships in which the nation was shut out of the medals.
Notable withdrawls from the team include Melissa Bishop, Derek Drouin and Phylicia George. Note that Canada will not have a marathoner in either the men’s or women’s open division. Rather than specific standards, athletes were chosen based on their performances against the fifth-ranked Commonwealth athlete in their respective event(s). (Olympian Andrea Seccafien breaks down the selection process here.)
Athletics Canada notes that “all nominations are subject to the approval of Commonwealth Games Canada and pending any successful appeals during the seven-day period following the unofficial team announcement.”
Our own track and field star @gstafford13 will represent Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games! #BleedBlue #WeAreTO #Congrats pic.twitter.com/4YNpk3jFrD
— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) January 10, 2018
Nominations
| Athletics | ||||
| Name | Hometown | Club affiliation | Coach | Event(s) |
| Mohammed Ahmed* | St. Catharines, Ont. | Niagara Olympic Club | Jerry Schumacher | Men’s 5000-metres |
| Shawnacy Barber** | Toronto | Project Athletics | Jeff Hartwig | Men’s pole vault |
| Aaron Brown* | Toronto | Phoenix Athletics | Dennis Mitchell | Men’s 200-metres Men’s 4 x 100-metre relay |
| Rachel Cliff | Vancouver | Unattached | Richard Lee | Women’s 10,000-metres |
| Brittany Crew | Toronto | SISU Throws Club | Richard Parkinson | Women’s shot put |
| Andre De Grasse* | Markham, Ont. | The Speed Academy Athletics Club | Stuart McMillan | Men’s 200-metres Men’s 4 x 100-metre relay |
| Evan Dunfee | Richmond, B.C. | Racewalk West | Gerald Dragomir | Men’s 20 km race walk |
| Sam Effah | Calgary | University of Calgary Athletics Club | Desai Williams | Men’s 4 x 100-metre relay |
| Crystal Emmanuel* | Toronto | Flying Angels | Charles Allen | Women’s 200-metres |
| Sultana Frizell** | Perth, Ont. | Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club | Sheldan Gmitroski | Women’s hammer throw |
| Elizabeth Gleadle* | Vancouver | Vancouver Thunderbirds | Laurier Primeau | Women’s javelin throw |
| Matthew Hughes* | Oshawa, Ont. | Newmarket Huskies | Jerry Schumacher | Men’s 3000-metres steeplechase |
| Adam Keenan | Victoria | Kamloops Track and Field Club | Anatoliy Bondarchuk | Men’s hammer throw |
| Geneviève Lalonde | Moncton, N.B. | Speed River | Dave Scott-Thomas | Women’s 3000-metres steeplechase |
| Pierce LePage | Whitby, Ont. | Unattached | Gregory Portnoy | Men’s decathlon |
| Django Lovett | Surrey, B.C. | Valley Royals Track & Field Club | Zbigniew Szelagowicz | Men’s high jump |
| Michael Mason** | Nanoose Bay, B.C. | Nanaimo Track and Field Club | Jeff Huntoon | Men’s high jump |
| Brandon McBride* | Windsor, Ont. | Windsor Legion | Chris Scarrow | Men’s 800-metres |
| Tim Nedow** | Brockville, Ont. | Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club | Richard Parkinson | Men’s shot put |
| Christabel Nettey** | Surrey, B.C. | Unattached | Jeremy Fischer | Women’s long jump |
| Anicka Newell | Saskatoon | Project Athletics | Cameron Meyer | Women’s pole vault |
| Alysha Newman** | London, Ont. | Bolton Pole Vault | Doug Wood | Women’s pole vault |
| Nicole Oudenaarden | St. Albert, Alta. | University of Calgary Athletics Club | Les Gramantik | Women’s heptathlon |
| Brendon Rodney | Brampton, Ont. | HEAT Athletics | Simon Hodnett | Men’s 4 x 100-metre relay |
| Nina Schultz | New Westminster, B.C. | New West Spartans Track and Field Club | Cliff Rovelto | Women’s heptathlon |
| Gavin Smellie | Brampton, Ont. | Flying Angels | Desai Williams | Men’s 4 x 100-metre relay |
| Gabriela Stafford | Toronto | University of Toronto Track and Field Club | Terry Radchenko | Women’s 1500-metres |
| Taylor Stewart | London, Ont. | London Western | Vickie Croley | Men’s decathlon |
| Taryn Suttie | Hanley, Sask. | Unattached | Justin Rodhe | Women’s shot put |
| Deryk Theodore | Edmonton | Edmonton International Track Club | Mark Cocks | Men’s pole vault |
| Benjamin Thorne | Kitimat, B.C. | Racewalk West | Gerald Dragomir | Men’s 20 km race walk |
| Alyxandria Treasure | Prince George, B.C. | Prince George Track & Field Club | Cliff Rovelto | Women’s high jump |
| Damian Warner** | London, Ont. | London Western | Les Gramantik | Men’s decathlon |
| Sage Watson | Medicine Hat, Alta. | Unattached | Fredrick Harvey | Women’s 400-metre hurdles |
| Jillian Weir | Kingston, Ont. | Unattached | Zeb Sion | Women’s hammer throw |
| Angela Whyte** | Edmonton | APEX Athletics Club | Jeff Huntoon | Women’s heptathlon |
| Natasha Wodak | North Vancouver, B.C. | Prairie Inn Harriers Running Club | Lynn Kanuka | Women’s 10,000-metres |
| Para-Athletics | ||||
| Name | Hometown | Club affiliation | Coach | Event(s) |
| David Bambrick | Wolfville, N.S. | Launchers Athletics | Steve Wohlmuth | Men’s shot put F37 |
| Alexandre Dupont** | Clarenceville, Que. | Club d’Athlétisme Saint-Laurent Sélect | Rick Reelie | Men’s 1500-metre T54 Men’s marathon T54 |
| Jessica Frotten | Whitehorse | Cyclones Road and Track Club | Rick Reelie | Women’s 1500-metres T54 |
| Adam Johnson | Toronto | I Be Fast Track Club | Craig Blackman | Guide |
| George Quarcoo | Scarborough, Ont. | I Be Fast Track Club | Craig Blackman | Men’s 100-metres T12 |
| Diane Roy** | Sherbrooke, Que. | Club Athlétisme de Sherbrooke | Jean Laroche | Women’s marathon T54 Women’s 1500-metres T54 |
| Tristan Smyth | Maple Ridge, B.C. | BC Wheelchair Sports | Jenn Schutz | Men’s 1500-metres T54 |
| Kevin Strybosch | London, Ont. | London Western | John Allan | Men’s shot put F37 |
| Kyle Whitehouse | St. Catharines, Ont. | Niagara Regional Athletics | Sue Bartol | Men’s 100-metres T38 |
| Staff | ||||
| Name | Hometown | Role | ||
| Glenroy Gilbert | Ottawa | Head coach | ||
| Simon Nathan | Ottawa | Team leader | ||
| Jared MacLeod | Winnipeg | Team manager | ||
| Jessica Scarlato | Richmond Hill, Ont. | Team manager | ||
| Ingrid Ruys | Sherwood Park, Alta. | Team manager – out of village |
||
| Charles Allen | Toronto | Team coach | ||
| Dave Scott-Thomas | Guelph | Team coach | ||
| Doug Wood | London, Ont. | Team coach | ||
| Jeff Huntoon | Toronto | Team coach | ||
| Richard Parkinson | Stouffville, Ont. | Team coach | ||
| Larry Steinke | Lethbridge, Alta. | Team coach | ||
| Les Gramantik | Calgary | Team coach | ||
| Rick Reelie | Saskatoon | Team coach | ||
| Dr. Padraig McCluskey | Victoria | Team physician | ||
| Andrea Stephen | Toronto | Team physiotherapist | ||
| Dr. John Vargo | Sarnia, Ont. | Team chiropractor | ||
| Danielle Chow-Leong | Toronto | Team massage therapist | ||
| Eric Corda | Sarnia, Ont. | Team massage therapist | ||
| Dr. Penny Werthner | Calgary | Team mental performance | ||
| Dana Way | Winnipeg Beach, Man. | Team biomechanist | ||
| Amanda Nigh | Uxbridge, Ont. | Media attaché | ||
*Member of the 2014 Commonwealth Games team
**Denotes a podium finish in 2014
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