The 2008 NACAC (North America, Central American and Caribbean) Cross Country Championships were held in Orlando, Florida on March 1 st, with Canadian teams dominating the competition. Canada struck gold in both three of four individual and team events. They also claimed team silver in the men’s race.
Before being allowed to compete in Canadian colours however, Brown had to clear waivers with both the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the British Athletics Association. This clearance finally occurred on January 22 nd, which means that he can now begin the rigorous Canadian Olympic qualifying process.
Unlike most cross-country team events, where each individual’s placing earns points, the NACAC team results are calculated by combining each team members’ time, with the lowest combined time earning the victory. In the Senior Women’s 6 km competition, gold medalist Carmen Douma-Hussar (a 2004 Olympian over 1500m) led the Canadian team to a first place finish, beating the Americans by 9 seconds. Calgary’s Lisa Harvey helped out by finishing in a solid 9 th place.
Two Calgarians were represented in the Junior Men’s 6 km event, which was won by Aleksandr Kuternin of Toronto. Nyial Majock narrowly missed a bronze medal, finishing in 4 th place, while the other Calgarian, Peter Corrigan placed 6 th overall. Again, Canada won team gold over Puerto Rico, winning by over 4 minutes.
The Junior Women’s 4 km competition wasn’t even close, with Canadians grabbing six of the top eight spots, led by Kendra Schaff of Craven, Saskatchewan. Their combined efforts earned them team gold, finishing over two minutes ahead of the U.S.
The only team title to elude the Canadians at the NACAC Cross-country Championship was in the Senior Men’s 8 km race. Canada was edged out by the U.S. for team gold, despite placing 5 runners in the top 10.
Many of the Canadian athletes who competed at the NACAC Cross-country Championships are now training in preparation for the 36 th IAAF World Cross-country Championships, to be held on March 30 th in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Calgary Running News will provide post-race results and commentary in our next edition. Please visit www.athletics.ca for updates and team lists.
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