Press Release
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Track and Field: UMoncton athletes ready
The Atlantic University Sport Track and Field Championships are being held Friday and Saturday at the Vance-Toner Stadium of the CEPS Louis-J.-Robichaud on the Moncton campus.
There are 263 athletes registered from 9 universities in the four Atlantic provinces. There will be 27 athletes from the Aigles Bleues and Aigles Bleus competing.
“I'm very excited and hopefully one or even both of our teams can finish on the podium,” said head coach Steve LeBlanc of the Université de Moncton. “There should be four of our athletes who will qualify for the U SPORTS championship. It won't be easy, but our men's team should perform well. Our athletes are expected to win about 12 medals.”
Thrower Samuel Bourque will be competing in his last AUS competition for the time being. “It's very exciting; Friday in the shot put, my goal is to win and set an AUS record over 16.76m,” he said. “Personally, I'd like to go over 17m. I feel good and ready. In the hammer on Saturday at 2 p.m., I'd like to win and set a Université de Moncton record and get closer to the 17m. This is my 3rd AUS Championships. I'm finishing university and have a job. I could possibly come back to do a master's degree in a few years. It's a special competition. I took advantage of the sleep and the good nutrition to prepare myself well. I followed a good routine and was able to relax. I aim to have fun and that's what counts.”
Sprinter Caroline Gagnon will be at the start line of the 60m hurdles, her specialty, and a member of the 4X400m relay team. “This is my 4th championship,” she said. “My goal is to succeed to the best of my ability. I'll have to have a good start and push as hard as I can to have a good race. I still have one year of eligibility and another year of medical school left. I think I'll come back next year. For this championship, I need to pay attention to my legs, prepare well mentally and have speed.”
The public is invited to come to the CEPS on Friday (12 to 6:30pm) and Saturday (9:30a.m. to 3p.m.) to cheer on these athletes.
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