Pair of 23-year-olds Drouin and Warner win at Toronto Track and Field Games

By Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

TORONTO – Derek Drouin won the high jump and Damian Warner raced to victory in the 110-metre hurdles on Tuesday night, as the future of track and field was on display at the Toronto International Track and Field Games.

“I think it’s awesome,” Warner said. “A couple of years back I remember saying ‘Canada is on the rise again,’ and it’s showing.”

Warner, a 23-year-old from London, Ont., won the hurdles in 13.87 seconds, less than a month after he won the decathlon at the prestigious Hypo Meeting in Austria — what’s considered the unofficial world championships for the multi-events.

“I think (Austria) was just like London,” said Warner, who was fifth at the London Olympics. “After London I found more confidence in myself. I always believed in myself but after London it just reassured myself I am where I should be. I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Drouin, also 23, won the high jump, clearing 2.33 metres. Less than a week ago, he cleared a Canadian-record 2.36 to win the NCAA championships.

“I definitely feel like track and field is on the rise, and it’s incredible to be a part of it,” Drouin said. “Our team was really young in London, good signs for the future.”

The native of Corunna, Ont., who won Canada’s only track and field medal at the London Olympics — bronze in high jump — attempted what would have been a Canadian-record 2.37 on Tuesday night in front of a crowd that clapped along with his steps. He missed on his only one attempt.

“It’s been a very busy week, this is my third meet in 10 days, I wanted to come here and gain some consistency,” he said.

Drouin, who is healthy for a full season for the first time in two years — he missed all of 2011 when he tore ligaments in his ankle — said he feels there’s more what that Canadian record came from.

“I took a few jumps at NCAAs on Friday at 2.39, and they felt incredible,” said Drouin — he missed one by just the graze of his calf. “I definitely felt there was room for improvement, maybe if the bar had been at 2.37, may have been a different story. But I’ve got to leave something for the rest of my career.”

Jessica Zelinka, who was seventh in both the 100-metre hurdles and the heptathlon in London, won the hurdles race Tuesday night in 13.06.

Zelinka is taking a break from the heptathlon this season so is focusing solely on the hurdles, and will run just that event at the world championships in Moscow in August.

She couldn’t help but feel a pang when fellow Canadian Brianne Theisen won the women’s heptathlon at the Hypo Meeting last month.

“It was hard for me to see that because I wanted to be there,” said the London, Ont., native. “It was great that Canadians won, very excited about that. And the winning was $20,000, so that would have been good for my season. But it’s good, it’s OK, I really needed the break.”

Zelinka moved to Connecticut this year with husband Nathaniel Miller, an Olympian in water polo who took a job coaching his sport there. She’d been without a coach until Kansas State University’s Cliff Rovelto recently agreed to write her a training program.

As a result, she’s had a late start to the season.

“I’m very strong and powerful right now, I just need to get my quickness back. I think it will come with having a program,” she said. “My goal was to win here, because I hadn’t won anything this year yet,and I wanted to get that feeling back of being aggressive and just going for it.”

In other events, Kate Van Buskirk of Brampton won the women’s 1,500 in four minutes 8.34 seconds, while Zane Robertson of New Zealand won the men’s 1,500 in 3:40.27.

Other winners included Shai Davis of Richmond, B.C., who won the women’s 100 in 11.52, and Jason Rogers of St. Kitts and Nevis, who won the men’s 100 in 10.25. Justyn Warner of Markham, Ont., was second in the men’s 100 in 10.32.

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