Dutch athlete Koeman wins Canadian shotput titles

Permanent London, Ontario resident

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Dutch Olympian and national champion Lieja Tunks-Koeman has been crowned Canada’s 2005 shotput champion at the country’s track-and-field nationals in Winnipeg. A week earlier, Koeman had won the Dutch titles in both the shotput and discuss.

Koeman, who is married to Canadian athlete Jason Tunks, and a resident of London, Ontario, has a permanent residency status in Canada, allowing her to enter the nationals. As a Dutch citizen, Koeman only is eligible for the Dutch track-and-field team for international meets.

At the Winnipeg national championships, Koeman’s winning distance at the shotput was 17.87 metres. She had claimed the Dutch title a week earlier with a distance of 18.55 metres.