Friday, July 1, 2022
by SImon Fraser Athletic Communications

BURNABY, B.C. – Simon Fraser graduates Lindsey Butterworth and Addy Townsend will represent Canada in the first World Athletics Championships to be held in the Americas.

The two former SFU standouts have been selected to compete in the 800 meters at the World Athletics Championships, July 15-24 in Eugene, Oregon. The preliminary heats will take place on Thursday, July 21 with the final scheduled for the last day of competition on Sunday, July 24.
 
The duo is coached by SFU head cross country/track and field coach Brit Townsend, herself a legendary runner at the school who made the 1984 Olympic final in the 1,500 meters.
 
"It is such an honor to represent your country and it is something that Addy has dreamed of for many years," said Brit Townsend of her daughter. "I am incredibly proud of both of them and know they will represent Canada and Simon Fraser well. It is been a tough couple of years through COVID, but both of them remain focused and determined to come out of it better than they were before it started.
 
"For Addy, it was especially hard missing her last two years of NCAA competition where she was poised to win a national title. This was a goal she set for herself when she first stepped into the SFU program. She has transitioned well to this next level and is excited to just seize this opportunity and make the most of the experience,” Brit Townsend said.

Addy Townsend placed fourth (2:03.39) at the recent Canadian Track and Field Championships, while Butterworth was second (2:00.85), just three thousandths of a second behind the first-place finisher. Butterworth's top time this season is 1:59.59, which she posted on May 6 at the Sound Running Track Meet in San Juan Capistrano, California.

“Lindsey is a seasoned competitor and has shown this season she is consistently under two minutes,” Brit Townsend said. “She is determined to improve on her past performances and make the final, which I am completely confident she is capable of. It is an honor to have two athletes that I coach selected to the world championship team, and both of them in the same event."
 
It will be Addy Townsend’s first world championship meet and Butterworth's third.
 
"It has been a wild last two days finding out I made this team," said Addy Townsend, who ran a personal-best time of 2 minutes, 1.24 seconds at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, on April 14. "I have always dreamed of moments like this and just kept working hard to make it happen. My mom/coach has been there every step of the way to keep pushing me and always believing this could be a possibility for us. This is my first senior national team and I'm going to keep this momentum building to make more teams in the future. Heading to Eugene with Lindsey makes it even more special. We push each other and she is such a great role model for me. I can't wait to be on this team and represent Canada on the world stage."
 
Both athletes had outstanding careers at SFU.
 
Addy Townsend participated in track and field and cross country between 2016 and 2021. She won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year award in 2017 and 2020. She was also the Women's Track Athlete of the Meet at the 2020 indoor conference championships.

She is a nine-time GNAC indoor champion, winning the 800 four times, and the distance-medley relay thrice. Townsend also owns indoor conference titles in the mile and 4x400 relay. She has five GNAC outdoor event wins, in the 800, 1,500, and three in the 4x400 relay.
 
Addy Townsend was the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2020.
 
Butterworth is SFU Athletics' NCAA program coordinator and academic advisor, and a volunteer coach with the school's track and field teams. She also earned a Team Canada spot for the 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer in Birmingham, England. The track and field competition will take place from July 30 to Aug. 7 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

"I'm super excited to be named to the Canadian team for both Commonwealth Games and World Championships," said Butterworth. "It will be my third World Championships and first Commonwealth Games so I am looking forward to building on my previous international experience and getting into some fun championship racing. It is always an honor to represent Canada and compete on the world stage and I am extremely grateful for these opportunities."

Butterworth competed for SFU track and field and cross country from 2010 to 2015.

She was the 2015 NCAA Division II champion in the 800 meters both indoors and outdoors. She was a three-time GNAC outdoor champion (800, 1,500, 4x400 relay) and a five-time indoor champion, including three times in the mile. She was named the 2015 GNAC Female Athlete of the Year and the 2015 GNAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
 
Butterworth was also that year's women's Outstanding Performer at the conference indoor championship meet, and the USTFCCCA West Region Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. She earned the GNAC's nomination for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2015.

She has won two senior Canadian championships in the 800 meters – in 2018 and 2021. Her latter triumph in a time of 1:59.19 earned her a spot at the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan, where she placed 32nd. In March, Butterworth ran 2:03.21 to finish sixth at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.