This weekend, families, friends and fans from over 30 countries will be cheering on their national teams as they compete for 3 days from July 31st to August 2nd at the state-of-the-art Foote Field for the Edmonton 2015 Panamerican Junior Athletics Championships.
Catch the non-stop action this weekend in person or watch the live stream online at athleticscanada.tv available through the TrackTown Canada mobile app.
At least one third of these athletes will have just competed, many winning medals, at Toronto’s Pan Am Games. This 18th edition of the Juniors event, held for the first time ever in Western North America, will bring together a field full of future Olympic stars from all over the Americas.
Canadian medallists at the last edition of the Panamerican Junior Championships included new Canadian record holders Shawn Barber (pole vault) and Andre De Grasse (200m). Overall Canada ranked second in total medal count collecting 19 medals (6 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze) and ranked third in gold medals, making for a high possibility that this year, on home soil, Canada could in fact rank first.
“The Pan Am Junior Championships are an excellent opportunity for young upcoming athletes. Competing at home against the best from the pan am region in International Focus on Track & Field Returns to Edmonton for 2015 Panamerican Junior Athletics Championships this age group should elevate their performances and provide them with an excellent learning opportunity,” said Canadian Pan Am Juniors Head Coach Les Gramantik about the IAAF championship event.
U.S. and Canada have the two largest teams by far. This year could be the first time that Canada wins the 4×100 and 4×400 – events historically dominated by Cuba and USA.
Legendary champion and 17x gold medallist, Carl Lewis is confirmed to be attending to cheer on Team USA. The American former track and field athlete superstar is sure to inspire the best of the best aged 19 and under.
This will be the third major event hosted in Edmonton this summer by TrackTown Canada after the Canadian Track and Field Championships and the National Track League’s TrackTown Classic. The multicultural dynamic of Edmonton 2015 Panamerican Junior Athletics Championships provides an excellent opportunity for Edmontonians from cultural communities to come out and support their ethnic heritage in addition to cheering on Team Canada.
