Five of the athletes competing for Canada in track and field at the Beijing Olympics are based in Edmonton, out of a total of 12 athletes from the team who are based in Alberta.
The Edmonton athletes are:
Brian Barnett, who is competing in the 200 metres and on the 4x100-metre relay team. Megan Metcalfe, who will run the 5,000 metres. Angela Whyte, who will race in the 100-metre hurdles. Tim Berrett, who will compete in the 50-kilometre racewalk. Tyler Christopher, who is the reigning 400-metre indoor world champion.Peter Ogilvie, executive director of Athletics Alberta, attributes the good representation from Edmonton to the World Track and Field Championships that were held in the city in 2001.
"Certainly the exposure of that event has attracted a lot of younger athletes. Not only that, we have an excellent core of coaching staff in this province based in Calgary and Edmonton," he said.
The Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre, based at the University of Alberta, is also a legacy of the world championships, Ogilvie said.
The track and field events are scheduled to start Aug. 15 in Beijing.
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