Sunday was a wonderful day, not too hot, a little breeze, one of those days we dream about in a Canadian winter. In fact during most Canadian winters it’s hard to imagine a day like Sunday can even happen. I spent much of my day at the University of Windsor stadium watching the Canadian Olympic Trials as Canadian athletes vie for the Beijing Olympics.

I know. You really don’t know me. Yes, I might be the Agridome man in some circles and I am passing on the later side of middle age, but a little track and field does nobody wrong. On Sunday I got to see Canada’s best compete for a possible place on the Canadian Olympic Team. For me it was a wonderful experience to witness. It would have been a dream of mine many years ago. Unfortunately, being an athlete was more about being a wannabe than winning any type of competition. Try as I might, I could never excel on the athletic field.

I was there to watch Neb Zachariah. Neb is the daughter of a very good friend of mine, Dr. Oswald Zachariah who I studied with at the University of Guelph. Through the years Neb has excelled at a lot of things, one being the triple jump. As a first year student at the University of Guelph she actually captured the Gold in Triple Jump at the Canadian Interuniversity Sports championship. Needless to say, since that time she has been one of Canada’s better female triple jumpers. Last month she graduated with a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics.

However, I must say I don’t get it. All I’ve ever known about triple jump is you are suppose to “hop, skip and jump.” Or is it “jump, skip and hop.” I dunno. However, what I do know is when I was taught triple jump as a high schooler, I found it to be the most unnatural “jump” I could ever imagine. After running at top speed, hitting a board and jumping, you then hopped and skipped into a patch of sawdust. To me it was like I was hurling all this energy into a horizontal movement only to spoil it in the end by the rather bizarre concept of “hopping and skipping.”

Good thing I’m an economics writer because I have no affinity for that triple jump thing. However, about a year ago Neb Zachariah visited Dresden during a big bash weekend I always plan surrounding my sweet corn harvest. So I ask Neb the question, what about this triple jump thing, isn’t it such an unnatural movement of the human body? Well, everybody laughed. Neb didn’t say much. How could she? She’s one of the best in Canada at triple jump and obviously doesn’t find it unnatural. There is something truly wrong when I start questioning world-class athletes based on my 49 year old out of shape body. Maybe, just maybe I should get out and try one of those “triple jumps.” Maybe there is a certain gracefulness of a farmer triple jumping toward his pickup in the morning. I dunno.

I really did enjoy my day at the Canadian Olympic Trials. It’s funny, you see a lot of people walking around but there is a big difference among people. Simply put there are a lot of athlete’s walking around who are more akin to a piece of steel. They are in world-class shape, something I could only dream about. Needless to say, it was an intoxicating atmosphere; maybe being among such people will spur me to be more like them.

Oswald, Neb’s father and I go way back. We first met at the University of Guelph in 1986. We did our Master’s Degree together and were back and forth to Antigua where he was from. As we sat in the sun together last Sunday he was thoroughly impressed with the facilities at the University of Windsor. The stadium was only opened last year and the track and field facilities were top notch. Oswald lamented that when it comes to track and field in Canada, it isn’t a priority. Facilities for track and field aren’t emphasized, with more resources go into hockey, basketball and just about anything else. Maybe our northern climate has something to do with that.

At the end of the day Sunday Neb finished fifth, but she will always be a champion in my book. The first place finisher was Tabia Charles who actually broke the Canadian record with a final jump of 13.92 metres. She will be representing Canada at the Beijing Olympics.

If I ever get a chance to go to the Canadian Olympic trials again, I’ll be there in a minute. Hopefully I’ll get to see Neb compete again and again with London 2012 in her future. And as for that “triple jump?” Maybe if I try hard I can nail one down without losing my britches.