South Stormont Sports Hall of Fame

Linda (Vander Wielen) Lynch was an outstanding track & field athlete at Tagwi Secondary School, with her specialty being the 800m race.

For five consecutive years, Linda competed against the best in the province in the 800m race at the Ontario finals (OFSAA).

In her high school career from 1979 to 1983, she set seven SD&G high school records -six of which have never been broken, including:

• Midget Girls 800m, 1500m and 3000m
  (the 3000m record has since been broken)

• Junior Girls 400m, 800m and 1500m

• Senior Girls 800m

In 1979, she won the gold medal at OFSAA in the Midget Girls cross country race.

In 1980, she won bronze medals in the 800m and 1500m races at the Ontario Summer Games.

In 1981, she won silver medals in the 800m and 1500m races at the Ontario Summer Games, while also winning gold in the 800m and silver in the 400m at the Ontario Track & Field Championships in Sudbury.

In 1982, Linda's personal best time of 2:10.4 in the 800m had her ranked as the 18th fastest woman in Canada -at the tender age of 17. Her fastest time in the 1500m was set at the Senior Canadian Championships that year, where she placed 13th with a time of 4:28.6.

In 1983, she won gold in the 800m with a time of 2:12.36, and also set a record in the mile with a time of 5:22.7.

As well, Linda set records at EOSSA and the East Regional Ontario Finals in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m. At the Queen's University meet in 1982 she set a meet record in the 800m with a time of 2:14.4. She also competed at the Canadian Junior Championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983, placing as high as 4th in the 800m.

After completing such a memorable high school career, she continued her track and cross country running at Ottawa University, competing at both the Provincial and National levels.