Video – Lily Ryan Captures Double-OFSAA Gold and On Track As One of the Top Runners in Canada
Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
St. Mary Catholic Secondary School student Lily Ryan capped off a remarkable first high school track and field season by winning two gold medals at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Track and Field Championships in St. Catharines last week.
The 15-year-old Grade 9 student from Bewdley claimed the novice girls 400-metre title on Friday, crossing the finish line in 56.01 seconds. Ryan had advanced to the final a day earlier after posting a time of 57.06, the fastest in her heat and second overall behind Ajax’s Jessica Ling, who qualified in 56.86. Ling went on to earn the bronze medal in the final.
Ryan completed her double-gold provincial meet on Saturday afternoon by winning the novice girls 800 metres in two minutes 15.88 seconds. Daniella Defrancheschi of St. Thomas of Villanova-Lassale finished second in 2:16.25, while Ursula-Franklin’s Olivia Anselm placed third in 2:16.73.
Earlier that morning, Defrancheschi recorded the fastest qualifying time at 2:17.86.
Ryan was second overall in 2:18.80 but topped her qualifying heat.
The victories marked the first OFSAA athletics gold medals for St. Mary and the first in two years by a local athlete since Maria Linton won the senior girls 3,000 metres for Cobourg Collegiate Institute in 2024.
Along the way to OFSAA, Ryan competed for St. Mary in a number of meets, including the Kawartha, Central Ontario and East Regional championships, breaking seven records along the way. Four of those records came as part of relay teams, while she also set two records in the 800 metres and one in the 400 metres.
Her rise in the sport has come quickly. Ryan previously told Today’s Northumberland that it wasn’t until Grade 7 at St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School in Port Hope that teachers encouraged her to pursue running at a higher level. She subsequently joined the Eclipse Track and Field Club in Bowmanville.
Last year, Ryan earned national attention at the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships in Calgary, becoming the youngest athlete on the podium in the U16 girls 800 metres, where she won gold. She also placed eighth in the 200 metres.
Among club athletes, Ryan is currently ranked first in Canada in the U16 girls 400 metres and second in the 800 metres.
“I like the 400 personally, it’s my favourite race because I have enough endurance to do it well and to do it properly and I won’t give up halfway through the race or be a little too tired and the 800 it’s just one more lap,” Ryan told Today’s Northumberland this week.
Her ambitions extend well beyond the provincial and national stages. Ryan has her sights set on competing at the Olympic level, perhaps 2032 in Australia, but she’s not ruling out a 2028 Los Angeles attempt either.
“You have to be at least 16 to go to the Olympic Trials,” she said.
“Some of the women who run the 400, run between probably 48 and 50 seconds and I’m at 56,” she said.
Ryan trains once or twice a week with Eclipse in Bowmanville and also completes runs around her home in Bewdley.
“I like running because not a lot of people can say they’re really fast, you know, and it’s just a natural talent that I guess I’ve had for a very long time and I just haven’t discovered it until now and I feel like I should use it to do something good with my life,” she said.
Ryan hopes to work in sports in some capacity in the future, while continuing to compete at a high level. Her next major competition will be the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Philadelphia later this month, where she is entered in the 400 metres and is on the waitlist for the 800 metres.
Before that, she will compete in Belleville this Saturday in hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Ontario Summer Games.
