Canadian Running and Under Armour have teamed up for the 2025 Canadian U Sports indoor track and field season to highlight some of the nation’s brightest talents. Each week, leading up to the 2025 U Sports Track and Field Championships in Windsor, Ont., in March, Canadian Running will select one male and one female athlete as the Under Armour Athletes of the Week.
The athlete of the week will be a male and female track and field athlete who achieved a standout performance, broke a school record or crushed a personal best. These athletes will be featured on the Canadian Running site and awarded the UA Infinite Elite running shoe. Western University’s Vivian Ogor and University of Regina’s Jonathan Podbielski have been chosen as this week’s Under Armour U Sports Athletes of the Week for their performances on Feb. 21-22.
Vivian Ogor, Western University (OUA)
Last weekend was one to remember for Western University’s Vivian Ogor, who hurtled to a new program and OUA record at the OUA Championships in Windsor, Ont., on Saturday. The 24-year-old clocked a blistering 7.22 to win the 60m final, smashing her own school record of 7.28 set in 2024 and edging out Guelph Gryphon Gabrielle Cole by 0.01 seconds. Both athletes snuck under the former OUA record of 7.23 set in 2015 by Canadian Olympian Khamica (Bingham) Forbes.
“I don’t have a lot of words to describe that race,” Ogor told Canadian Running. “I’m still in shock thinking about it. It was like everything clicked–the stars aligned, and I finally got the race and time I’ve been hungry for.” The Mustang athlete’s run marks the fifth-fastest 60m in Canadian history and the second-fastest this year–second to only Canadian 100m and 200m record holder Audrey Leduc. “My Western family being just as or more excited and being there for me in that moment was truly something I’ll never forget,” she said.
Ogor reveals that the season had been somewhat frustrating so far, with setbacks including hamstring, foot and Achilles problems. “Seeing all my hard work, dedication and resilience show, and being able to execute while being injured, was extremely emotional for me,” she added.
With U Sports rapidly approaching, Ogor has turned her focus to achieving her final goals of the indoor season. “[One] goal for the rest of the season is to finish it in one piece,” she said, hoping to keep her injuries at bay. “I would love to be the 60m champion as well as get the U Sports 60m record. I definitely feel it’s possible for myself and within my reach–I know I can run even faster.” Ogor, the reigning U Sports silver medallist, also dreams of earning a spot on the Canadian team headed to March’s World Indoor Championships.
The athlete also says the men’s and women’s Mustangs teams are hungry for double banners at the national championships. “It’s not going to be easy, but we are prepared and ready to get the job done, come March 7th,” she said.
Jonathan Podbielski, University of Regina (CanWest)
At last weekend’s CanWest Championships in Regina, the University of Regina’s Jonathan Podbielski perfected the iconic middle-distance triple–taking home gold in the 1,000m, 1,500m and 3,000m events. In the 1,500m, his third event of the weekend, the 20-year-old clocked 3:45.92 to win by a 10-second margin, smashing the CanWest conference record of 3:47.43. His winning times for the 1,000m and 3,000m were 2:25.80 and 8:20.26, respectively.
“I feel awesome about my races,” Podbielski told Canadian Running. “I was able to reach all my goals during conference weekend. But I am even happier for my teammate, Ian Teichler, who was able to take second in the 1,500m and will now be joining me in toeing the line at U Sports.”
The third-year athlete holds the University of Regina program records in all three events, and is the reigning U Sports 1,000m silver medallist and 1,500m bronze medallist. Last year, he also anchored the Cougars team to silver in the 4 x 800m relay.
“My goal for the rest of the season is to finally win U Sports gold in one of my events,” he said. “I am planning on doing the triple, and potentially the 4 x 800m relay as well.” If taking on all four events at the national competition, Podbielski will race three times on Friday and once on Saturday–a total of 6.3 km of racing. He heads into the competition ranked within the top four for all three individual events.
