York track & field athletes Kristen Matthews and Anthony Garber will represent Canada on the track at the 2005 World University Games, Aug. 11-21 in Izmir, Turkey. Both are members of the Lions’ track & field team and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Canadians.
Matthews, an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all-star and York’s 2004-05 Female Athlete of the Year, will represent Canada in the high jump, an event she has dominated this year. At the CIS Championships, Matthews set a school record with a jump of 1.83m and to captured her third CIS gold in the event. Matthews twice captured top spot while attending McMaster in 2002 and 2003.
Right: Kristen Matthews
As the number-one ranked high jumper in the country, the Ancaster native won gold in every meet she competed in this year.
Garber, a double-medalist at the 2005 CIS Championships, will compete in the 4x100m relay. At the national championships, Garber won silver in the 60m dash with a season-best time (6.81.3) and bronze as a member of the 4×200 relay team. The Toronto-born sprinter was named team most-valuable player this season and was an OUA all-star.
“We are excited to have Kristen and Anthony representing our school at FISU [Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire],” said Colin Inglis, head coach of the York Lions’York track & field team. “Both athletes are hard working and have continued to develop during their time at York and will represent, Canada, York and themselves very well in Turkey.”
Right: Anthony Garber
Matthews and Garber will be joined by fellow York Lion Kristy deVries who was named to the FISU soccer team as well as Sport York staffers Patricia Murray, director of sport & recreation, Tracy Meloche, supervisor of York’s sports injury clinic, and Gus Kandilas, instructor in the School of Kinesilology & Health Science, who will serve on the mission staff.
The 23rd Summer Universiade will feature 9,000 participants including 8,000 student-athletes from 170 countries competing in the following sports: archery, athletics, basketball, diving, fencing, gymnastics, sailing, soccer, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. The Games are second in size only to the Olympics and occur every two years.
For more information visit the official Izmir 2005 Games Web site and the Team Canada Web site.
This article was submitted to YFile by Stephen Reid, sport & recreation information assistant in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science.