Seventeen-year-old Liam Kennell dreams of running his way into the Olympics. The dream is in the starting blocks this week for Kennell and four other young Vancouver Islanders as they prepare to compete in the IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships today through Sunday in Donetsk, Ukraine.
As well as Kennell, the Island lineup on the 51-member Canadian team includes: Courtenay Neville-Rutherford of Sidney in hammer; Marita DeSchiffart, Nanaimo, 2,000-metre steeplechase; Thomas Oxland, Nanaimo, 800m; and Tyler Kostiuk, Comox, javelin. To make the team, athletes had to be in the top two of their division nationwide.
“I know if I keep getting better, my chances of making the Olympics get better,” Kennell said, while training with the Vikes Track Club last week.
Kennell has been “tagging along” with the University of Victoria-based club since Grade 9, and last week he mingled and learned from world-class athletes assembled at Centennial Stadium for the Victoria International Track Classic. He was selected for the world team for having the fastest two times in Canada this year running the 1,500-metre in the 16- and 17-year-old age group. His time of 3:54.64 was comfortably under the standard of 4:01.00.
“I like to win,” said Kennell, who’ll be in Grade 12 this fall at Oak Bay high. “I like to go hard, and give it my all.”
UVic coach Brent Fougner coached at the last championships — they’re held every two years — and initially thought the 17-and-under age group would be overwhelmed by that calibre of world event. His opinion changed after seeing how the young athletes responded.
“It’s amazing to see them handle the pressure, and that’s half the battle,” Fougner said. “Maybe it’s the age that nothing really bothers them. I told Liam it was an amazing experience. I told him, ‘Go for it.’ ”
The experience for Kennell will include a Games village-like atmosphere, featuring cultures and athletes from all over the planet. Fougner said Kennell has potential to peak for the 2020 Olympics, but will be competing in Donetsk against up-and-comers just a couple of years away from the world championship level.
“It’s certainly world class,” Fougner said. “The middle-distance Africans are there, and it doesn’t matter what age they are, they’re good.”
Kennell will soon find out how good, but his competitive genes should help. His dad Cliff Kennell was a pro cyclist in Europe, and mom Debbie Kennell a triathlete. Their son was involved in a variety of sports from a young age, before running stood out from the pack.
“Instead of getting a babysitter, I used to go to my mom’s boot camps.”
The Canadian team finished 17th overall in France at the last worlds, and national team coaches have told the athletes to enjoy the experience, while improving their country’s standings. Fougner wants Kennell, whom he said is sometimes too focused, to relax.
“On this trip he should step back, enjoy the experience, and just take it all in.”
