York University sprinter Tyrone Halstead of Mississauga, Ont., captured the silver medal in the 100-metre sprint on the first day of track competition at the Canada Summer Games in Charlottetown, PEI, on Monday, Aug. 24.
Halstead, a criminology student in York's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, crossed the finish line in a time of 10.62 seconds. The gold medal went to teenage running sensation Akeem Haynes of Calgary, Alta., in a time of 10.47 seconds, while the bronze was won by Carlisle Stanford, also of Mississauga, in a time of 10.77 seconds.
Left: Tyrone Halstead competing in the preliminary round during the Canada Summer Games
Halstead had the fastest time in the preliminary round of 10.47 seconds, just .04 off his personal best time in the event, to qualify for the ‘A’ final. Despite a solid run, he was clipped at the line by Haynes, a high school sprinter who has been turning heads all season long with his remarkable rise through the ranks.
A two-time Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all-star and former Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) all-Canadian, Halstead has asserted himself as one of the top sprinters in interuniversity athletics. He has won back-to-back OUA gold medals in the 60 metre, claimed a CIS silver in the 60 metre in his rookie season and a bronze in the same event last year. He was also a member of the Lions 4-by-200-metre relay team that struck gold at the CIS championships this past season and was the OUA rookie of the year in 2008.
Halstead will try to add another Canada Summer Games medal on Thursday, Aug. 27, in the 200 metre. Several other York student-athletes are in action in track and field at the multi-sport event, including Kristin Obrochta of Mississauga, Ont., in the hammer throw; Elizabeth Petrov of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the shot put; Christopher Theriau of Kentville, NS, in the 110-metre hurdles; and Lions newcomers Emma Crombeen and Umar Khan in the pole vault and shot put, respectively.