July 6/01 5:47 am - Track Nationals Day 1

Posted by Editor on 07/6/01
 

Track Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Courtesy Fiona Morrow - CCA

Edmonton, AB - The 2001 Tim Hortons National Track Championships opened today at the Argyll velodrome on 88th street in Edmonton. The opening ceremonies were unique, as National Team track athletes, Edmonton's Lori-Ann Muenzer, Lars Madsen and Steen Madsen, and Calgary's Jim Fisher toured the track and flew through the ribbon, an original twist to the traditional ribbon cutting. This kicked off the first of three major Canadian Championship events this summer: the Tim Hortons National Road Championships, in Dieppe, NB July 25 - 29, and the Tim Hortons National Mountain Bike Championships in Kamloops, BC Aug. 3 - 5.

Events this morning included the flying 200m qualifier, which produced top performances by Steen Madsen in the Senior Men, and by Lori-Ann in the Senior Women. They both advance to the next round of the match sprints. The sprint finals will be contested on Saturday morning.

The afternoon session was interrupted by high winds and a brief rain spell. Competition resumed early in the evening, with the conclusion of the pursuit qualifier and the junior women's points race. Laura Yoisten of Calgary was the gold medallist in the Junior Women's Points Race, and was the first athlete of the competition to receive a National Champion jersey.

Tomorrow's program gets underway at 9am with focus on Kilo, Olympic sprint qualifiers and pursuit finals.

Thursday Results

Points Race-Junior Women
Laura Yoisten - Gold Alberta 24 points
Genevieve Leblanc - Silver Quebec 19 points
Magalie Boulay - Bronze Quebec 13 points