Connaughton helps set Canadian record

Published on April 9, 2012

Jared Connaughton helped set a Canadian record in the 4x200 metre relay Saturday in Florida.

The New Haven native ran the first leg of the race along with three Ontarians (Olwasegun Makinde, Gavin Smellie and Seyi Smith).

“It’s always an honour to run for your country,” he said Sunday. “To have your name in the record books is pretty neat.”

The foursome ran the relay in 1:21.82, breaking the previous record of 1:22.15.

“To break the record is pretty cool,” the 26-year-old said while waiting to leave Florida.

The team had set a goal of running the race in under 1:22. They finished second behind Zenith Velocity AC, which ran the relay in 1:21.57.

The 4x200 is not a marquee event and is not run in the Olympics or world championship. Connaughton, the top-ranked 200 metres runner in Canada, has not run the relay race in a number of years, but used it as a training run for bigger competitions coming up later this season.

While in Florida he also ran the 4x100 relay. The team finished third in 39.16.

Connaughton trains at the University of Texas at Arlington.