Local track athlete wins bronze at national Legion meet
An Amherstburg track and field athlete returned home from a national track and field meet with a medal around her neck.
Tyler Lamarche captured a bronze medal in women’s discus at the Legion Track and Field national championships in Regina the weekend of Aug. 7-9.
“I’m really happy about it,” she said. “This is my first national meet.”
Discus is one of her strongest events and “I was happy I was able to pull it together.”
Lamarche said she was doing well during the competition. She said she was in third place when it got down to the round of eight portion of the event and she was able to keep her placement.
“It stayed that way throughout the rest of the competition,” said Lamarche.
Lamarche stated that she qualified for the meet through her performances at earlier track and field meets.
“You have to meet the standards to go there,” she said. “You have to throw multiple times in order to go there.”
Lamarche said she likes track and field, mainly the throwing events, and enjoys seeing if she can beat her earlier results. The atmosphere at meets is what also draws her back.
“When I go to meets, I meet so many kind people,” said Lamarche. “They cheer each other on. It’s a great environment to be around.”
Going to Regina was the farthest Lamarche said she has ever travelled for a track meet. She had been working towards that goal all season. Lamarche trains out of the Windsor-Essex Athletic Club (WEAC), which is based at the University of Windsor.
“I train every day but coming up to nationals, I trained twice per day,” Lamarche said.
Lamarche went out on a high, as she is ineligible to compete next year. She is currently 17-years-old but will be 18-years-old next year thus unable to compete in the U18 event.
“It was my last year,” she said. “I thought ‘why not go to nationals?’”
Lamarche will start training in November for the indoor track and field season. She also competes in multiple sports at North Star High School, though track and field is a particular focus for her.
It was in Grade 9 where she really became familiar with track and field and grew to love the sport. She threw shot put in Grade 9 and began competing more and more from there.
Coaches Celine Gibb and Tina Sharman were thanked as well as coaches at North Star and her parents. She hopes to compete in future U20 track and field meets and later at the university level.
Local track athlete wins bronze at national Legion meet
By Ron Giofu
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