IT'S still five years away, but competing at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London is at least a little closer to reality for Winnipeg track and field athletes Darolyn Trembath, Nathan Vadeboncoeur and Nicole Edwards.
All three have been named to Athletics Canada's Team 2012 Athlete Identification Program.
Nathan Vadeboncoeur.
"It puts them on the radar, it validates what they've been doing," said Claude Berube, the University of Manitoba's track and field coach who brought the 25-year-old Trembath through a successful college career and still coaches her. "It's a nice recognition for the athletes."
But it's not even close to a guarantee.
Vadeboncoeur, who has been among Canada's best 400-metre runners early this track season, is in the silver category of the ID program (carded athletes, relay runners) while Edwards and Trembath, both 1,500-metre runners, are on the bronze list (uncarded, younger athletes).
The list is designed to change every year as athletes improve or decline, moving up the list or falling off of it, to be replaced by up-and-comers. There's a suggestion more Manitobans could make the list long before 2012. But Trembath, already 25, has a tighter timeline than the others.
When the London Games are held, she'll be 30. She's ranked about sixth or seventh in the 1500 in the nation now but she's got to get a lot faster if she wants to run in London. She's about 10 seconds off the Olympic standard of four minutes, six seconds.
Nicole Edwards.
"It's cool to be named to the list," said Trembath, who was eighth recently in the biggest meet of the early West Coast meet tour -- the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver -- with a time of 4:26.89, far back of the winning time of 4:11.68.
"I think this year, I'm ready. It's always been a goal to go to the Olympics and 2008 is too soon -- I'm just not there yet -- but 2012, I'd be 30 and I'd say that would be my last chance. Pretty much, if I don't make it, I'm retiring, and if I do make it, I'm retiring, basically right after that."
Winnipegger Bruce Pirnie, who'll retire in August from his job as director of athlete development for Athletics Canada, developed the ID program.
"We're looking beyond the current Olympic (Summer) Games in Beijing because that's where all the money's going right now. The question is well, yeah, that's fine, but what happens when they all retire? Where are we going to be in 2012?"
Vadeboncoeur is seen as a definite contender to make Canada's 4 x 400 relay team for the 2008 Games in Beijing, if the team itself can qualify. But at 22, he could also still be around for the 2012 Games. He was part of the relay team that won gold at the Harry Jerome.
Edwards, a junior at the University of Michigan, might be the most promising. She turned 21 on June 30, but is already running about the same time as Trembath, five years her senior. She finished seventh at the recent NCAA Nationals in a time of 4:17.33, not her best, but she's a multi-record holder for the Wolverines.
Darolyn Trembath.
"These are the identified people that we definitely want to focus on for the long term and not let them disappear," said Larry Switzer, Track and Field Manitoba's new president and team leader for Canada's T & F teams at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics. "We really want to focus on these people.
"Some get injured and somebody new may pop up, but generally speaking, in our sport, these are the people at the right age with the right coaching, the right supports in place, these are the people we feel confident have a chance to compete for us and do well... not just go there and run, to really do well."
chris.cariou@freepress.mb.ca
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