Athletics Canada, the national governing body of athletics in Canada announced last week the three finalists for each awards division for the 2009 Athletics Canada Awards Gala. Among the finalists is our very own Sultana Frizell, hailing from Perth Ontario, an experienced Olympic athlete, and nominee in the F.N.A. Rowell Trophy Field Athlete of the Year for being a World Championship Finalist in the Hammer Throw category.
Sultana Frizell traces her athletic career back to when she started out as a young figure skater, moving on to take up track and field in high school. While attending Perth and District Collegiate Institute, in Perth Ontario, she found an interest in shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. Her successes soon followed after, winning gold medals in hammer and shot put and silver in discus at 2003 Canadian junior championships. In addition, she also bagged fourth place in the hammer throw and sixth in shot put at the 2003 Pan Am junior championships
After finishing high school, Frizell then enrolled at the University of Georgia, immediately competing for three consecutive seasons. It was in college that she saw remarkable improvement. Placing ninth at the NCAA Championships and third at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, Frizell improved her personal best records for shot put and javelin. She climbed up the rankings at both NCAA Championships and Canadian Championships, forging a name for herself in Canada’s athletics world.
Standing alongside Sultana in this upcoming event are three time IWAS World Juniors gold medalist Alister McQueen of Calgary, Alberta, as well as Outstanding Para-Athlete of the Year, Noella Klawitter of Carleton Place.
Each finalist was chosen after much discussion by the Athletics Canada’s Awards Committee. The three winners are set to be honored at the Awards Gala, on November 14, in Vancouver so let’s all give Perth Ontario’s very own a big round of applause.
