MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Former West Virginia University track and field and cross country graduate Jessica O’Connell will compete in the 5,000-meter run at the 2016 Canada Olympic Trials on Thursday, July 7, in Edmonton, Alberta.
“Jessica has worked so hard and taken her talents to a new level over the last few years,” said WVU coach Sean Cleary. “This is a very big week for her as she sets out to join Sarah Brault at the Olympics. She is perfectly positioned to accomplish this goal. Nothing would make me prouder than to see Jess fulfill this amazing goal.”
The Canadian Championships and Rio Selection Trials will air live from Thursday, July 7 through July 10 on
AthleticsCanada.tv. Live results can be found at
Athletics.ca.
The quest for earning a spot on the Canadian Olympic Team begins at 12:30 p.m. ET and O’Connell’s 5,000-meter race is set to begin at 9:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, at Foote Field in Edmonton, Alberta. O’Connell will race in hopes of joining former WVU graduate and roommate Sarah Anne-Brault on Team Canada.
“Isn’t that so cool? She was my roommate,” O’Connell said. “She’s one of my best friends. We talk quite a bit especially since we’re both pursuing high performance sports. It’s a pretty strange lifestyle, so we relate to each other really well. I’ve been following her so closely, so when she qualified tears were rolling down my face. I was like I need to make it now.”
The Calgary, Alberta, native achieved her Olympic standard qualifying time and personal-best time of 15:06.44 in the 5,000 meters in May 2015, and she is seeded No. 1 in the women’s senior 5,000 meters. With the Olympic time standard being 15:24.00 in the 5,000 meters, O’Connell beat the standard time by 0.18.44 seconds.
“I’m really excited,” said O’Connell. “There’s been a lot of build up this year because I ran the Olympic time standard last year. I needed to get the time standard, but I also need to prove my fitness this year, and I need to place a certain place at the trials.
“It would be a dream come true. To work for something for so long and to have it fall into place. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps because it’s not just a matter of training hard, lots of people train hard, it’s just about being lucky and being at the right place at the right time.”
A 2012 WVU graduate, O’Connell earned All-America honors three times. Her first All-America accolade came in 2010 as a member of the distance medley relay team that finished in eighth place (11:16.39) at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2011, O’Connell earned second team All-America honors, as she placed 16th in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Championships. Her third honor came in 2012, as she placed 19th in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Championships.
On July 11 at 1 p.m. ET, Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee will unveil the 2016 Rio Olympic Team.
