The provincial indoor track season will officially launch this coming Saturday when the Richmond Olympic Oval hosts the sixth annual Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome Indoor Games.
The Harry Jerome provides opportunity for athletes ranging, from 10 to over 70 years age, to pursue meet records on the Oval’s 200 metre Pulastic track. There will also be shot put and high jump events. The inaugural event in 2011 was the first indoor track and field event held in Metro Vancouver for almost 40 years.
Among the athletes to watch will be a trio of up-and-coming sprinters, coached by Mary Chewning who works for both the UBC Thunderbirds and the Thunderbird Track Club.
Michael Aono, a Grade 12 student at Seaquam Secondary School in North Delta, competed for Canada at the World U18 Championships last year in Columbia. He is the reigning Jerome champion in the U18 60 metres (7.01 seconds) and will enter the open division this time, looking to challenge the meet record set by Trinity Western’s Nathan George.
Aono has committed to UBC next fall and will be a teammate of current freshman Jake Hanna. He holds the Jerome U18 record over 300 metres (36.52) and will be aiming for the open mark this time (35.32), also established by George.
Meanwhile, St. George’s Grade 11 student Quinn Litherland will be taking aim Hanna’s record in the U18 300 metre event. He has an outdoor best of 48.90 over 400 metres.
For more information on the meet visit harryjerome.com
