To The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA — Cayuga’s Caitlyn Thompson, 16, was the lone entrant from the area at the first Athletics Ontario Championships of the year for Combined Events and Relays.
Thompson’s training was derailed in September when she collapsed at school and ended up at McMaster Hospital with a small perforation in her stomach. Once she was given the green light by doctors, she had lost a lot of muscle mass and the accompanying strength. Although aware that she has not returned to the fitness level of summer, when she dominated the Heptathlon for Under-18 girls at the Ontario Championships, she still opted to contest the indoor pentathlon at York University on January 29, 2023.
Her day started with a Personal Record in the 60m hurdles, going under 10 seconds for the first time with a 9.86 clocking. She was second, however, to Lauren Thomas of Niagara Falls, who opened up a 56-point advantage with a 9.57 time.
The second event, high jump, turned out to be Thomas’ strong event and Thompson’s weakest. With Thomas clearing 1.41m to Thompson’s 1.29m, a gap of 180 points existed and Thompson dropped into third behind Sarah McKie of London.
The shot put cut some of that difference, with Thompson putting the ball 9.72m compared to Thomas’ 8.92, leaving only 128 points separating the two and the local athlete jumping back into the silver medal position.
The fourth element, long jump, changed nothing, as Thomas and Thompson had identical 4.69m distances to lead the field.
For the final event, the 800m, Thompson had to finish 11 seconds ahead of Thomas to take the gold. Thomas decided to make it difficult by taking the lead on the first lap, with only Cali Benner of Mississauga managing to get past her. Leaving her drive for home too late, Thompson ran out of enough track to build up a sufficient lead over Thomas. Thompson managed to finish a little more than five seconds ahead of Thomas.
Thomas finished with 2,778 points to Thompson’s 2,709. Because of her strong 800m, Mississauga’s Benner surpassed London’s McKie for the bronze.
Next meet for Thompson will be the Hamilton Indoor Games at First Ontario Place on February 15.
