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The rise of the relays - Air Blastoff girls double up on gold
2025-04-03
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The recent performances of the Air Blastoff quartet of Melina Doiron, Annabelle Richardson, Nadia MacDonald and Amanda Syncox earned the relay team a pair of gold medals at the 2025 Canadian Indoor Track & Field Championships in Toronto.

A 4 X 200m time of 1:46.04 gave the Sudbury girls almost a two second victory over a foursome representing the St Albert Mustangs, creating a starting point for the locals to try and narrow the gap towards the Canadian record of 1:36.10 established by Zoe Sherar, Morgan Byng, Shyvonne Roxborough and Tessa Hamilton in February of 2020.

And despite the fact that both Doiron and Richardson truly excel in the sprints, the same northern Ontario grouping also took first in the 4 X 400m relay, this time outracing the Blue Devils Athletic Club in Toronto, 4:04.55 vs 4:05.84.

“For me, the relays are a completely different mindset,” noted Richardson, a 14 year-old grade nine talent at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. “I feel so much more motivated in a relay because I am running for my teammates.”

“I am just focused on getting that baton to my teammate.”

Because of the diversity of skill sets on the team, positions are switched from one event to the next, with Syncox and MacDonald serving as lead and anchor in the 4 X 400m while Richardson and Doiron took on those roles in the 4 X 200m final.

“I think that it’s very good that we get to experiment with different positions in the relay to practice our baton handoffs and receives,” acknowledged Richardson, who went “baton-less” while earning a bronze medal in the U16 girls 60m sprint final, lowering her time down to eight seconds flat in her last race.

“It’s fun to try out different spots.”

Still, even with the gradual improvement – Richardson ran 8.06 earlier this winter and 8.01 in her heats – there is little doubt that it’s the summer months ahead where the teen who starred with the Knights flag football team would most like to shine.

“I see myself peaking in the outdoor season, during the school year,” she said. “That will probably be the most consistent training that we do, with no breaks.”

Also part of the powerhouse team at Lo-Ellen, Doiron advanced comfortably to the U18 60m dash final with a clocking of 7.78, jumping up a couple of slots in the final to finish fifth (7.74 – a new personal best) before placing seventh in the 200m, her time of 25.97 less than a half second off the first place time of Aliyah Campbell representing the esteemed Speed Academy.

In addition to competing in the 400m individually (1:04.04), MacDonald (U18) showed best in her marquee event, the long jump, setting a new indoor PB with a leap of 4.92 metres. While Amanda Syncox (U18) did not advance to the final, her time of 1:01.50 is encouraging with the high-school season just ahead.

Rounding out the Air Blastoff contingent in Toronto were Jacob Paille (U18 – 400m – 53.37) and Mackenzie Roy (U16), who somehow found time away from preparing for the Skate Ontario provincials in Stratford to sneak in a 1200m race with her teammates in the GTA.

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