Olympians Surin and Palmer to headline McGill track meet Saturday
PHOTOS (L to R): Canadian Olympians Bruny Surin and Hank Palmer
MONTREAL - Bruny Surin and Hank Palmer, a pair of Canadian Olympians, and Justin (Jus Fly) Darlington, will be headline acts at the McGill University Open track and field meet at Tomlinson Fieldhouse, Saturday.
Field events are slated to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the track events at 12:45 p.m., in the McGill Sports Centre, 475 Pine Avenue West. Admission is free of charge for spectators.
"There will definitely be a buzz at this meet," said Dennis Barrett, in his 25th campaign as head coach at McGill. "Having high-profile athletes like those guys on hand kick-starts our indoor season with a big bang."
Surin, one of the most decorated sprinters in Canadian history, will be making a comeback after a seven-year layoff when he steps into the starting block for a special 50-metre race, which Coach Barrett added to the schedule at Surin's request.
An Olympic gold medalist who last competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, the 42-year-old Haitian-born Montrealer is hoping to break a Canadian masters record and is pencilled in to run his event at 12:45 p.m.
The current record for the 40-44 age group, is 6.20 seconds, set by Malik Crepsac on Feb. 11, 2007 in Toronto. Surin, a two-time world indoor champion, has held the Tomlinson Fieldhouse record since 1999 at 5.71 seconds.
Palmer, another sprinter who competed at the Beijing Games, will be making his debut in a McGill uniform around 3 p.m. The 24-year-old Montrealer is enrolled in a marketing certificate program and is a good bet to challenge the school record in the 60m. The mark is owned by David Faille, who was clocked at 6.83 at a Sherbrooke meet in 2007. The Fieldhouse record is 6.56 set by Nick Macrozonaris in 2002.
Darlington, a resident of Montreal, is a 21-year-old marketing major who broke a 26-year-old school record in the men's high jump last Friday (Nov. 27). His height of 2.02 metres at a meet in Ottawa surpassed the previous McGill best of 2.01 set by Chris Allegro in 1983. Darlington, a relative newcomer to track & field, is better known for his spectacular slam-dunk exploits on YouTube. He also has his sights set on breaking the McGill record for the triple jump (14.90m), which has been in the books since 1997 when Max Oates accomplished the feat.
McGILL UNIVERSITY OPEN TRACK MEET
UNIVERSITE McGILL RENCONTRE OUVERT
Track Schedule/ Horaire de Piste
12:55
50M Invitational
13:00 60M
Open/ Ouvert
F Heats/ Vagues
13:15 60M
Open/ Ouvert
M Heats/ Vagues
13:35 60MH
(Jr/Sr only) Open/
Ouvert F
Heats/ Vagues
13:45 60MH
(Jr/Sr only) Open/
Ouvert M
Heats/ Vagues
14:00 1500M
Open/ Ouvert F
14:10
1500M Open/ Ouvert
M
14:25 60M
Hurdles/Hais
M
Final(e)
14:30 60M
Hurdles/Hais
F Final(e)
14:45 60M
M Final(e)
B&A
14:55 60M
F
Final(e) B&A
15:05 600M
F
15:20 600M
M
15:35 4x200M
M
15:45 4x200M
F
(Track Break)
16:20 1000M
F
16:35 1000M
M
16:50 300M
M
17:20 300M
F
17:50 3000M
F
18:15 3000M
M
18:40 4x400M
M
18:50 4x400M
F
Field Schedule/ Épreuves de Pelouse
11:00
Weight-Throw / Marteau
F
11:00 High Jump / Saut
en Hauteur F
11:00 Long Jump / Saut
en Longueur M
12:00
Weight-Throw / Marteau
M
12:30 Long Jump /
Saut en Longueur F
13:00 Pole Vault
/ Saut à la Pêrche F
14:00 Triple Jump
/ Triple Saut
F
15:00 Pole Vault /
Saut à la Pêrche M
15:35 Shot put /
Lancer au Poid F
15:30 Triple
Jump/ Triple
Saut
M
15:50
High Jump / Saut en Hauteur M
17:00 Shot put /
Lancer au Poid M
RESULTS POSTED AT: www.mcgilltrack.com
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012