A meet that began 35 years ago at Centennial Stadium, thanks in great part to the vision of legendary University of Victoria Vikes coach Brent Fougner, continues today.
More than 220 athletes from 15 nations will be chasing dreams, and qualifying times and distances for the 2023 IAAF world athletics championships next month in Budapest, in the annual Victoria Track Classic at 12:30 p.m.
“We would go from setting up for the All-Schools Relays the week before to setting up for international athletes who were headed to the Olympics and world championships. We had a playground to podium approach,” said Fougner, who coached in the golden era of Island running, that included Olympic or world championship medallists Gary Reed and Angela Chalmers and Olympians Robyn Meagher and Diane Cummins.
“It was a special time,” added Fougner, who also coached UVic teams to nine cross-country national championships, and was assistant Canadian coach at the Olympics and world championships.
Fougner, who retired in 2019 after 31 years as UVic Vikes head coach, still keeps his hand in the game by occasionally assisting his successor as Vikes head coach, two-time Olympian Hilary Stellingwerff.
The Victoria Track Classic hit it out of the stadium in its very first meet when 1986 Commonwealth Games medallist Dave Campbell of Victoria beat Peter Rono of Kenya, the latter who would go on to win the 1,500-metre gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Today is a moment for a new generation to chase their times and distances for Budapest this year and Paris next year.
“The qualifying window for the 2024 Olympics opened on July 5, making our meet along with the Harry Jerome [Friday night in Langley], among the first meets in which athletes can start earning points for Paris,” said Victoria meet director Keith Butler.
Kara Winger last year became the poster athlete for qualifying events such as this. The American javelin thrower only qualified for the 2022 IAAF world athletics championships in Eugene, Oregon, by making standard just a few weeks before at Centennial Stadium in the 2022 Victoria Classic. Winger went on to win the world championship silver medal in Eugene and the Diamond League championship.
“That shows what meets like ours can help athletes to do,” said Butler.
Canadian track and field is on the rise with six medals each at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With the Canadian championships in two weeks at Langley, the Victoria meet will serve as a primer.
“Ours is an especially important meet for Canadian athletes because the national championships are in two weeks in Langley,” said Butler.
“And we’ll have a good international and national contingent going after qualifications.”
Info and tickets: victoriatrackclassic.com.
