Percy Perry Stadium is ready to host some of the top track and field athletes in the world.
The Harry Jerome Track Classic is being held at the stadium June 28 after being hosted for years at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. This year’s meet will feature Canadian Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse, who won silver in the 200-metres at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics as well as bronze in the 100 and 400-metre relays. Other members of Canada’s Olympic team will also compete as part of their preparation for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, Aug. 5-13.
Kathleen Reinheimer, the manager of parks and facilities for the City of Coquitlam, said the facility at Town Centre Park is in tip-top shape.
But some regular users of the rubberized track that rings the stadium said there are imperfections in the surface that could make it “dangerous.”
Fulvio Pagliaro said in an email to the Tri-City News he walks around the track every night and he’s noticed the track’s condition has “deteriorated markedly during the past year, to where there are sections I would classify as definitely susceptible to cause injury.”
He noted “bubbles” ranging from 4 inches to a foot in diameter where the rubberized track surface has separated from the supporting base. He said some of those bubbles have hardened into mounds from glue that has clumped beneath the surface.
“The bubbles detract from the track, and will surely cause the track to be anything but ‘fast,’” said Pagliaro.
The track’s fast reputation amongst competitive runners is one of the reasons the event is moving to Coquitlam while repair work is being done at Swangard, said Doug Clement, the chair of the Achilles International Track Society that organizes the meet.
The track’s surface is not too hard and not too soft to produce just the right amount of springlike response, said Clement, and it’s wide turns mean runners in events like the 200 and 400-metre can better maintain their speed.
“There is not a track that is consistently as wide as that,” said Clement.
And if the prevailing wind on race day is out of the northeast, as it usually is, that could really benefit the sprinters as they run southbound down the track’s front straight.
“We’re very positive,” said Clement.
Reinheimer said the track is inspected regularly by city staff and any problems would be dealt with quickly as the facility is “booked pretty solid” though the track and field season. She’s also had no negative feedback from the Coquitlam Cheetahs Track and Field Club that uses the facility four days a week for its own practices as well as hosts regular competitions.
Clement said he’s also in contact with the local track club, and he’s been assured should any issues arise, they’ll be corrected in time for the meet.
Reinheimer said the track was replaced in 2014 and is built to last. She said the previous track was about 20 years old.
The track surface is comprised of a rubberized compound that is poured on top of layers of compacted sand, gravel and asphalt.
“It’s very specific to running tracks,” said Reinheimer. “It’s actually pretty resilient.”
Especially considering the amount of rain that can fall in the Town Centre area.
Reinheimer said while the park is designed to handle a standard amount of rainfall, a really “big rain event” would likely cause the meet to be postponed for the safety of the athletes and comfort of spectators and officials.
“We’re going to make sure they have a good time and come back,” said Reinheimer.
• For more information about the Harry Jerome Track Classic, and to get tickets online, go to www.harryjerome.com
