By Bernie Puchalski - September 7, 2021
The Dallman name in Niagara Falls is synonymous with hockey.
Marty Dallman played six games for Maple Leafs, had a long pro career in North America and Europe and played for Austria at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Kevin Dallman suited up for three teams in the NHL and just retired from a long and successful career in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Tommy Dallman, a 15-year-old Niagara Falls native who is Marty’s nephew and Kevin’s cousin, also plays hockey but the Grade 10 student at Saint Michael Catholic High School is making a name for himself in the sport of track and field.
Competing in his first full season with the Thorold Elite Track Club, Dallman is the top-ranked thrower for his age group in the province in discus and hammer throw.
At this past weekend’s Ontario Minor Track Association Track and Field Championships in Brampton, Dallman captured gold in intermediate boys discus.
He got his start in track and field in August 2020 when good friend Carson Gauthier suggested to him that he would be good at throwing.
“We were at a friend’s house throwing a sledge hammer to see who could throw it the farthest and I kept throwing it farther than him.”
Dallman joined Thorold Elite shortly afterwards and became an immediate convert to the sport.
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By Bernie Puchalski - August 11, 2021
Even during a COVID-19 pandemic, athletes can find a silver lining.
Payton Gauthier, a 17-year-old Niagara Falls resident, managed to do just that in his rowing career.
“At first, I thought it would be the end of what was a really important year and I would be unmotivated to look for and find a school but it ended up being one of my most beneficial years,” said the student at Saint Michael Catholic Secondary School in Niagara Falls. “I joined the academy and now I am finding even more potential schools to attend now that I have had this experience and training.”
The Niagara Falls Rowing Club member has been training at the Ontario NextGen Performance Centre in Welland since last September.
“Since I started at the academy, it has opened my eyes to how much work it requires to be able to compete at an international level. But at the same time, I have realized how attainable it is,” Gauthier said. “I have a learned a lot of things about my stroke that I didn’t notice before and now I am able to articulate it a lot better and I am able to correct myself. The coaching staff has been able to help me train this way.” Canada’s men’s quad at the world juniors.
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By Bernie Puchalski - BP Bports Niagara
Thorold Elite athletes Carson Gauthier, Kaleb Kennedy, and Mikhail Dwyer swept the podium in the novice boys javelin throw. Photo by Steve Fife.
Niagara’s track and field athletes had a dominant performance at the NXT CHAMP Invitational this past weekend at the Toronto Track and Field Centre.
Carson Gauthier was the meet’s top performer earning five gold medals and one silver medal across six events. Steve Fife photo.
Thorold Elite Track Club member Carson Gauthier led the way for Niagara at the meet which was held in an attempt to make up for two years of missed Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championships. The invitation-only meet brought together the top 12 performers across the province to compete in each event for a spot on the podium.
Gauthier was the meet’s top performer and single-handedly earned six of the 36 medals won by athletes from the Niagara region. The talented athlete, who is training for a decathlon, won gold in novice boys javelin, high jump, long jump, shot put and 100-metre hurdles. He added a silver in novice boys discus, finishing second to Thorold Elite teammate Tommy Dallman.
Thorold Elite’s athletes won an additional 13 medals at the meet including: Caleb Grover, gold in junior boys shot put and silver in junior boys discus; Kaleb Kennedy, silver in novice boys javelin; Victoria Massoom, silver in novice girls 80-metre hurdles; Ava Young, silver in novice girls javelin; Adam Kleinsmith, silver in open boys 2,000-metre steeplechase; Matthew Kleinsmith, silver in novice boys 3,000 metres; Chad Thorpe, silver medal in junior boys 400 metres and a bronze in the 300-metre hurdles; Denis Tzvetkov, bronze in senior boys long jump; Tyrese Gibson, bronze in novice boys 100 metres; Sammy Tonnies, bronze in novice boys 800 metres; and, Mikhail Dwyer, bronze in novice boys javelin.
Zavio Prato of the Niagara Olympic Club was a triple medalist, earning gold in the junior boys 200 and 400 metres and a bronze in the 100 metres.
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