Morgan Walker is on track for a medal-winning performance at the Legion Canadian youth national championships.
The provincial midget female record holder in the 300 metres is going for the gold in two individual events at the Aug. 5 to 7 track and field competition at the Terry Fox Athletic Complex in Ottawa.
“My goal is to try and hit the podium in the 200 and 300 metres,” said Walker, who made her Legion debut last year with Team Alberta. “I feel more confident going in this year because I will know what to expect. There are a lot of fast people that you don’t know about until you go to a higher meet like that.”
The 15-year-old from St. Albert wanted another shot at Legion nationals after finishing fifth in both the 100-metre and 200-metre section two finals. She also placed 12th in shot put in the under-16 division.
“After last year’s experience, I wanted to make it to Legion again, so I was training harder, eating healthier and going to practice every day trying to do my best,” said the member of the Edmonton Olympic Track and Field Club.
Walker was one of the few first-year midgets in the province last year to make the Legion standards in her events.
“I was happy how I did. There were a lot of fast girls there and they just pushed me to do my best,” she said. “In the 100 metres, I got a personal best [12.78 seconds], and in the 200 metres, I just wasn’t feeling that great that day.”
At the Western Canadian Championships last weekend in Regina, Walker lowered her time in the 100 metres to 12.33 seconds en route to a silver medal. She also remains undefeated in the 200 metres this season after winning gold with a time of 25.63.
“I’ve been training harder and getting stronger, I guess you could say, so it was nice to do as well as I did,” Walker said of her second consecutive westerns with the provincial midget team after collecting gold in the 100 metres and bronze in the shot put last year in Winnipeg.
The Sir George Simpson Junior High graduate and future Bellerose Bulldog also won every 200-metre race last year leading up to Legion nationals, but an injury prevented her from running in the final at westerns. She won the qualifying heat but rolled her ankle crossing the finish line. Her times in the 200 metres at Legions nationals in Ottawa were 26.20 in the heats and 26.11 in the section two final.
So far, the highlight of the outdoor season for Walker was her first provincial record.
“When people look [in the record book], they will see my name, so it’s awesome.”
At the St. Albert Challenge in May, Walker was clocked at 40.51 seconds in the 300 metres. The previous best mark was 40.81.
“It felt pretty good. It was my first race of the outdoor season so it was a good start,” said the nominee for the 2010 Athletics Alberta midget female of the year award. “I was pretty surprised that I would run a time like that in my first meet.”
