Newton wins Pan Am silver!(updated)

Adam Newton, competing for Canada in the 4 x 100 meter relay, captured a silver medal at the Pan Am jr. games which took place this weekend in Windsor, Ontario.

The Canadian team made up of Newton, who ran the opening leg, Gavin Smellie, Seyi Smith and Justyn Warner finished with a time of 40.25 seconds, well behind the 1st place Americans who finished with a time of 39.36 seconds.

However, the Canadians did just win the silver by a hair, as the third place finishers from Jamaica finished with a time of 40.27 seconds.

Newton watching from the finish line, actually thought the Canadians finished third.

“I thought we had bronze,” Newton said in a phone interview Monday evening from his North Bay home.

When they realized they finished second the Windsor crowd erupted and the four proud Canadians did a victory lap carrying the Canadian flag.

“It was great to do it in front of the home crowd, and the crowd was going nuts,” he said.

But what was even more impressive about the second place finish was that two members of the team had to back out of the race due to injury. As a matter of fact, Gavin Smellie was an emergency fill in as both Michael Leblanc and Mike Latouche could not run in the final.

“He was an alternate alternate,” Newton said about Smellie.

Individually it was a tremendous race for Newton as he stayed even on the first leg with American Wopamo Osaisai, who finished 4th overall in the 100 meter final.

According to Canadian Track officials Newton is the first North Bayite to capture a Junior Pan Am games medal, and that’s a nice silver lining to end a tremendous track season for the talented and speedy North Bay athlete who will be running back to Windsor this fall as he will join the University of Windsor’s track and field team.