U SPORTS RECAP: High jumper Sénéchal-Becker wins historic gold at U SPORTS Nationals
With a leap of 2.14m, Thomas Sénéchal-Becker won gold in the high jump at the U SPORTS National Championship, hosted by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
It was the first medal of any colour in the event in the history of the Gee-Gees program.
The win caps a banner year for the Ottawa product. Sénéchal-Becker was undefeated in the event throughout the season, twice breaking the program record. However, the Health Sciences student came up against the University of Toronto's Aiden Grout in the OUA Championship and had to settle for silver.
Sénéchal-Becker and Grout battled all season for the best mark in the country in the high jump. Grout entered the U SPORTS National Championship in first with a jump of 2.20m, with Sénéchal-Becker 0.03m behind. Both marks were achieved at the OUA Championship. It truly was a two-athlete competition, as no other jumper in the country surpassed 2.09m this season.
Both athletes were clearing the bar with ease up until 2.14m. Sénéchal-Becker cleared it on his first attempt, but Grout, who jumped well over 2.14m in every competition this calendar year, failed on all three attempts, giving Sénéchal-Becker his historic medal.
Sénéchal-Becker then raised the bar to 2.18m in an attempt to once again break his own program record, but couldn't clear it. Prior to the Health Sciences student joining the Gee-Gees in 2021, no athlete had surpassed 2.10m in the high jump, meaning Sénéchal-Becker owns the top seven jumps in the history of the program.
The win gives Ottawa its 47th national medal and its 23rd gold. Their last national medal was in 2020 when Madison Clarke took silver in the 600m. The Gee-Gees last gold came the year prior when Stephen Evans won the 600m.
Other Gee-Gee performances at the meet included shot putter Brianna Asiamah finishing 10th with a put of 12.03m and Katie Manor running 7.66 in the 60m, but failing to qualify for the final.
The women's 4x400m relay team (Manor, Doyin Ogunremi, Brooklyn McCormick and Kennedy Banton-Lindsay) clocked their fastest time of the season at 3.53.28, finishing 12th, while the men's 4x400m relay team (Fabrice Nonez, Thomas Kukla-Colby, Lucas Zanetti and David Moulongou) finished tenth with a time of 3.23.39.