Brannen, Zelinka set Olympic standards

Nathan Brannen and Jessica Zelinka record Olympic A+ standards

Nate Brannen

Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., finished in sixth place at the IAAF Combined Events Challenge Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis, Austria this past weekend.  The athlete who lives and trains in Calgary amassed a score of 6393 points in the seven event heptathlon, surpassing the Olympic A+ standard.  Zelinka’s performance stands as the second best all-time heptathlon score by a Canadian athlete behind her Canadian record of 6490 set at the 2008 Olympic Games.  Zelinka now needs a top three finish at the Track and Field Trials to secure her spot on the 2012 Olympic Games team.  

Damian Warner, also of London, Ont., competed in the decathlon in Gotzis finishing in ninth place with an Olympic B standard of 7961 points.

It was a big weekend for Nathan Brannen, the Cambridge, Ont., native raced to a new personal best and Olympic A+ Standard at the IAAF World Challenge Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands. Brannen crossed the line in the men’s 1500-metres in 3:34.22 to finish eight.