Olympics begin for running fans

The London Olympics shifts into high gear on Friday as the marquee event, track and field, begins at the Olympic stadium

Mihira Lakshman August 2, 2012

The London Olympics shift into high gear on Friday as the marquee event, track and field, begins at the Olympic stadium. It could also bring Canada its first gold medal of the Games.

Team Canada’s best track and field medal hopes kick off the competition with Dylan Armstrong in the shot put and Jessica Zelinka in the heptathlon. Both narrowly missed the podium four years ago in Beijing.

After a silver medal at last year’s worlds and a Diamond League victory, Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., has made it clear that he’s aiming for gold in London. In 2011 Armstrong set a Canadian record of 22.21m, but this season he has yet to crack the 22-metre barrier. He enters the Olympics ranked seventh in the world.

Zelinka meanwhile has put together the best season of her life, breaking the Canadian record in the heptathlon at the Trials (6,599 points) and qualifying individually for the 100m hurdles. She is ranked fourth heading into the heptathlon.

Distance running fans will have something to watch as well on the opening weekend of the Games. Canada’s Alex Genest competes in the first round of the 3000m steeplechase (8 a.m. EST), while veteran Nate Brannen runs in the heats of the 1500m on Friday (3:05 p.m. EST). The men’s 10,000m, featuring Canadians Cam Levins and Mohammed Ahmed, is on Saturday (4:15 p.m. EST), and Canadian Running magazine will offer analysis in a live web chat during the race.

CTV will have live coverage of the shot put and heptathlon on Friday, but it’s unclear if the TV coverage will include the heats of the steeplechase or the 1500m on TV. However, the network is providing livestreaming of all events at CTVOlympics.ca.

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