TORONTO – Bryan Barnett has never received any advice from the legends of Canadian sprinting. They are his friends, though, in a matter of speaking.
“I have Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey on Facebook, actually,” Barnett said sheepishly on Sunday.
Perhaps now he has earned a sit-down. The 22-year-old Edmonton native won the 100 and 200 metre races this weekend at the Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Varsity Centre, becoming the first sprinter since Nicolas Macrozonaris in 2003 to win both events.
The 2006 world junior silver medalist in the 200 won the 100 metres in 10.28 seconds on Saturday. But Sunday’s triumph in the 200 metres was likely the more satisfying win, as it was something of a surprise.
Barnett edged Charlottetown’s Jared Connaughton, who finished 14th in the Olympics last summer. Barnett clocked in at 20.71 seconds, .07 seconds ahead of Connaughton.
“That was my goal at the beginning of the year, to run the [100 and 200] here and win them both,” Barnett said. “I came and did it. I’m pretty happy with myself.”
Still, neither of his times was good enough to meet the qualifying standards for the world championships, which go in mid-August in Berlin, although by virtue of being on the 100-metre relay team, he will be able to race.
And that team, which will feature Barnett, Connaughton, and likely Toronto’s Anson Henry and Montreal’s Hank Palmer, might be one of Canada’s better chances for a medal at the event.
“I say that even this year if we all bring our best in Berlin, there’s no reason why we don’t medal,” Barnett said. “Some of the past teams that have medalled, a come-third kind of thing. They were some guys running 10.1 and a bunch of 10.3 guys. It’s all about the handoffs. We have the leg speed already. It’s just about getting those handoffs bang-on during the day.”
It could be quite the humble Canadian contingent, however, in Berlin. Only hurdlers Perdita Felicien and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, who finished first and second, respectively, in the 100-metre hurdles race on Saturday, and shot putter Dylan Armstrong and hammer thrower Sultana Frizell have reached the standards needed to qualify for the event.
Additionally, the men’s 4×100-metre relay team and the women’s 4×400-metre relay team have qualified. Rob Watson, who runs the steeplechase, could qualify through the Rising Star program.
However, athletes have until July 24 to reach the standards, with several meets slated to go in Europe over the next few weeks.
But the combination of relatively weak competition and rainy conditions yesterday made this weekend disadvantageous for those looking to earn their spots in Berlin.
“It’s frustrating. I guess maybe on the day it’s disappointing,” Canadian head coach Alex Gardiner said. “Wind in your face in the 100, that’s going to happen all the time. We would expect athletes at this level to have made their marks already before they come into nationals, although this is another opportunity.”