Powell Named to Canadian Olympic Squad
7/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
TORONTO, Ontario – Rising senior Micha Powell of the Maryland track & field team has officially qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as announced Monday by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).
Powell has been selected as a member of the 4x400m relay team, and is one of 65 athletes nominated by the COC to represent Canadian Athletics (Track and Field) in Rio. The Toronto, Ontario native punched her ticket to the Summer Olympic Games after her performance at the Canadian Olympic Trails this past weekend in Edmonton.
“I was born and raised in Canada and I think having the opportunity to represent my beautiful homeland is a dream come true," said Powell. "Canada has an incredible athletics team this year, the biggest Olympic track team yet. I think it's incredible to know that little Canadian girls and boys are going to be looking up to me and seeing me on TV saying, 'wow she's at the Olympics maybe I'll be there too someday'."
Powell started off her weekend competing in the 400 meter dash on Friday evening, advancing out of the preliminary round with a mark of 54.01. The time earned her a spot in Saturday's finals, where she crossed the line in 53.45to notch a sixth place finish in the field.
Joining Micha in the pool of Canadian runners for the 4x400 relay is Alicia Brown, Chanice Chase, Kendra Clarke, Carline Muir, and Sage Watson. Track and Field events are set to run August 12-21 at this year's Olympics.
“This is the culmination of a stellar season for Micha," said head coach Andrew Valmon. "It started with school records, to the NCAA Championships and now an Olympic opportunity. She has worked hard towards these goals and to see her progress over these past few years has been exciting. This will be a special moment for her and our staff is so proud to see her qualify."
Powell is coming off a breakout year for the Terps where she qualified for the both in the Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championships. She set new school records in the 400 meter dash during both the indoor (52.56) and outdoor (51.97) seasons, while also helping the sprint medley relay team break the school outdoor record (3:54.92).
Powell is the only current student-athlete at Maryland to qualify for the Olympics. Thea Lafond ('15) will join Powell in Rio representing the nation of Dominica in the triple jump.
-Terps-
