Cigan is a crowd favourite

Truth be told, I didn't know who Anthony Cigan was until I saw him run the 800m Intelectually race at the OFSAA West Regionals at the University of Windsor last Saturday. Announcer Dave Prpich does a great job of informing fans of what to look for in upcoming events but he had another level of energy when introducing Cigan. During the race, he was even more dynamic when talking about Cigan. I couldn't help but stop and watch as he easily won with a time of 2:15.29 seconds, with the roaring approval of fans. It was definitely a moment.

Source: Abby Mastromattei

"Anthony is a great athlete that has shown so much growth since he joined the Track & Field Team in 2022," said Abby Mastromattei, head coach of the St. Joe's team. "To watch him crush his own records from last year has been very exciting."

Cigan shaved six seconds off last year's meet record of 2:21.71, which he set.

"Fun to coach," said distance coach Mark Strong. "Told him he was going run a 2:15 in the 800, and he just said 'OK'. He takes his success in stride. Happy, but not cocky. His mom is his biggest fan and supporter."

Anthony tells Powerplay Sports he started running in grade school five but he did it for fun. He got serious in high school. "I actually thought, okay, you know what? If I'm going to do this, I might as well just go out hard.

He worked his hardest and broke a record in his first year. "I never thought that beating a record would be like something I would accomplish." said Cigan who has a total of nine records.

His efforts have garnered him attention around the track as well. Cigan says he likes putting on a show for fans and hopes to dazzle in the OFSAA 100m Friday morning at 10am in London. He'll also run the 800m Saturday at 10:30. His goal? "Try to get third, second or first."

If he electrifies the crowd, like I saw him do, and runs like he did last weekend at the University of Windsor (2:15.29), Cigan has a shot to take down the OFSAA record (2:15.52) in the 800m.