Tara Jeffrey
Two Lambton County men will represent Canada at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships this month.
Andrew Davies of Sarnia and Connor Black of Forest were among 23 athletes selected for the Feb. 18 event to be held in Bathurst, Australia, Athletics Canada announced this week.
Both will compete in the Open Mens race, and will be joined by fellow Lambton native Hilary Stellingwerff on the coaching staff.
“Canada will field five teams (U20 women and men, Open women and men, and a mixed-relay team) comprising five Olympians, seven World Cross Country Championship veterans, several national champions and top varsity athletes,” Athletics Canada noted.
Among those elite athletes are Black and Davies.
Black won the senior men’s title at the Canadian Cross Country Championships in November, while Davies competed in the world championships in 2019 in Denmark — the last time the event was held, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November, Davies won bronze at the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships, helping his McMaster Marauders to their first Men's title in nearly 60 years.He also took silver at the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) Cross Country Championships with his McMaster Marauders last fall.
It’s the first time for Black at the World Championships; he represented Canada at the Pan Am X-Country Cup in 2020.