By Brendan McConnell
In just its third year of operation, Ottawa’s C.A.N.I. Athletics club is sending three track-and-field athletes to this year’s Canada Summer Games. All three are ranked within the top-3 in the country in their respective events. But that’s about where their similarities end.
Saj Alhaddad, Chanel Marion and Amelia Brohman couldn’t have more different life and sports backgrounds, but they’ll all be going for a single goal come August – to take home a Canada Games medal.
“We think they’re all going to be in the thick of things at the Canada Summer Games,” says C.A.N.I. head coach Lyndon George. “The beauty of being an athlete from Ontario is you know you’re going to be up against the best – Ontario is basically the bread basket for hurdling and sprinting in the country – so if you get selected to the team, you have a pretty good chance of medaling.”
After starting his track and field career very late – in Grade 12 to be exact – Saj Alhaddad has risen quickly through the ranks to become the third-seeded 400-metre hurdler in Canada for his age group. Born in Syria, Alhaddad was drawn to track in Ottawa by the view he had from his apartment window.
“When I moved here, I lived in one of those buildings right there,” says Alhaddad, pointing to the buildings overlooking Terry Fox Athletic Facility. “And I looked out from the window at the track and I really decided that I wanted to do it.”
That was just a few years ago, back when the Terry Fox track was still Francophone Games blue, and Alhaddad was a new immigrant to Canada studying at St. Pius X Catholic High School. Since joining C.A.N.I., Alhaddad has progressed into a national-level athlete, sporting a 52.22-second personal best time in the 400 hurdles.
Apart from placing on the podium at the Canada Games, Alhaddad says he wants to continue his rise to the top in the coming years – to make national teams and, maybe one day, head to the Olympics.
“When I was young I used to watch the TV and see all these nice tracks, nice uniforms, nice shoes and big crowds, so I guess, similar to all goals in track, you want to make it to the very top – to the Olympics, the World Championships,” the 20-year-old describes.
Marion was another late starter in track-and-field.
“When I got into high school, I was into a lot of other sports and I wasn’t at practice, so I wasn’t taking track very seriously until maybe Grade 12,” recalls the Embrun native who is now in her second year of university. “That’s when Lyndon grabbed me and told me I needed to be more serious.”
In just her third season since that turning point, Marion has seen her results start to be amongst the best-ranked in the country. After claiming a provincial championships bronze and starting the season off with a personal best, the 400 m hurdler looks to be in peak form heading into the Canada Games.
“I hope to represent Ontario the best I can, so I hope to medal,” Marion says. “But just getting a PB would be great. I know all the girls over there are going to be really fast, so that’s going to push me.”
The third amigo of the C.A.N.I. Canada Games group, Amelia Brohman, is the relative veteran on the team, having started her track career in Grade 8. The Hillcrest High School grad also carries the top international resume of the bunch, having scored a place on Canada’s team for the Pan Am junior championships Aug. 23-25 in Colombia.
“This is a breakthrough year, so we’re just over the moon with how she’s doing,” enthuses George, whose athlete attended a Team Canada training camp in Florida just before the start of the Canada Games. “I don’t like to hang my hat too high. I think Amelia should medal and I think there’s a strong chance that she could win it, but that’s not for me to say.”