Balkwill Finishes 7th in Canada's 400m Final
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami track and field fans had all eyes on Kelsey Balkwill Saturday night.
The 2015 UM graduate competed in the women’s 400m final at the Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials. Running out of Lane 6, Balkwill finished seventh in the women’s 400m final with a time of 54.00 seconds.
Balkwill had a strong showing at the Canadian Olympic Trials, reaching the final in both the 400m and the 400m hurdles. On Friday, she began her day with a seventh place finish in the women’s 400m hurdles final (58.07). Balkwill followed that performance with a victory in Heat 1 of the women’s 400m preliminaries with a time of 54.58 seconds that secured her spot in Saturday’s final.
Two Hurricanes will compete tomorrow in the final day of their respective country’s Olympic Trials.
Pole vaulter Alysha Newman will compete at the Canadian Olympic Trials this weekend in the hopes of punching her ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Newman enters the Canadian national meet as the top pole vaulter in the country, holding the Canadian record of 4.60m. The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship runner-up and ACC Outdoor Champion will look to become the Canadian national champion on Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Hurdler T’erea Brown will race in Sunday’s women’s 400m hurdles final at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, set to begin at 7:03 p.m. ET. An Olympian in 2012 and the 2011 NCAA 400m hurdles champion, Brown advanced to the women’s 400m hurdles finals finishing second in Heat 1 of the semifinals with a time of 55.70 seconds. She ran a time of 55.47 seconds in the first round of the 400m hurdles, placing second in her heat and earning an automatic qualification to the semifinals.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be broadcast live on NBC, NBC Sports Network and the NBC Sports app. The 2016 Canadian Track and Field Championships and Selection Trials will be aired live on athleticscanada.tv.
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @MiamiHurricanes, or “Like Us” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @CanesTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram, @CanesTrack.
