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caption:Ali Soomro, age 11, battles his way down the field with the ball at an inner-city game between youths at a field on Yorkwoods Gate July 15.
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caption:Tecumseh's Kuran Lucas, left, Joseph Howe's Nathaniel Bailey and John McCrae's Khaseen Ambersley high-step to the finish during the Scarborough region elementary school track and field hurdle finals Tuesday at Birchmount Stadium. Kuran won the race.
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caption:Montrose Public School's Laura Ludiazo, right, leads a relay race pack during a recent elementary school track and field competition at Varsity Stadium.
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caption:Bryce McKee, left, Andrew Kim, Ryan Yan and Kevin Lee work on their throwing arms during Hillcrest Village Softball League 'Learn To Play' level practice at Cummer Park Monday.
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caption:Brett Bianchini, right, spikes the ball during Motion Ball volleyball action at Havergal College Saturday. Volunteers and athletes participated in a day of sporting events to benefit Special Olympics Canada.
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The Canadian team is slated to kick off at the Olympics on Aug. 6 against Argentina.
Paul James, the women's head coach at York University, also served as assistant coach for Canada's gold medal winning team at the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) under-20 team in June held in Mexico.
"It will be a great experience," said James, who heads to Beijing Aug. 1.
James played for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, helping the national team advance to the quarter-finals before losing to Brazil in penalty kicks. James also played for Canada at the 1986 World Cup before going into coaching.
Wilkinson, a North York resident, timed in at 2:13.63. She has already recorded three victories and two national records at the competition this week.
Calgary swimmer Erica Morningstar placed second with a time of 2:16.53 followed by Tanja Hunks, of Vancouver, at 2:18.17.
All three swimmers will be heading to the Beijing Olympics in August.
More than 800 athletes from across Ontario will be competing.
According to the association, it runs the largest and highest calibre beach volleyball league in Canada.
The event runs from 9 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m. on both days, with playoff action set for the afternoons.