At age 11, she’s already a 5K running champ. Now she’s got her sights set on Olympic glory | 24CA News
Like most 11-year-olds, Sawyer Nicholson has hobbies. She likes to play soccer, hang around along with her associates, and skim and write tales.
But in between her different commitments, Nicholson makes positive she suits in time for just a few five-kilometre runs every week. It’s a observe that is helped her win a number of first-place medals in grownup competitions.
“I actually was never expecting to join the track team or do any races,” mentioned Nicholson. “I was just expecting to like, go for runs.”
With a time of 18 minutes, 55 seconds, the Stouffville woman earned the highest spot amongst all feminine runners — and a surprising third place amongst all 376 individuals — on the Niagara Falls International Marathon in October. That win was on prime of the first place medal for females she received on the Oasis Zoo Run the month earlier than.
Her profession in operating would not cease there. She hopes to maintain up the tempo at a possible 5K run in Ottawa subsequent spring.
Family impressed by Sawyer’s tenacity
Her pure velocity and dedication to bettering is one thing that awes her household.
“She’s usually the smallest athlete in any race or soccer match,” mentioned her father, Levi Nicholson. “She’s just learned that she has to fight, and the results speak for themselves.”
WATCH | 11-year-old 5K runner often outpacing adults:
Sawyer Nicholson has stunned many by successful a number of first-place medals for grownup operating competitions at simply 11 years previous. The younger athlete sat down with CBC Toronto to speak about her large aspirations for the long run.
Levi says he first received his daughter into operating as a approach to preserve her energetic when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and postponed actions like soccer. At the beginning of it, he says she wasn’t too enthused throughout their routine runs.
“Now I strictly just ride my bike with her cause I just can’t keep up,” mentioned Levi.
Nicholson says she’s impressed by American long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine and Canadian soccer participant Jessie Fleming, who Nicholson says set the report for the 1,500-metre run for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations observe and discipline championships when she was a highschool scholar.
She hopes her ventures in operating and soccer can sometime land her a scholarship at a U.S. college, and even earn her a spot at the summer time Olympics or observe and discipline world championships.
“I love making it on the podium. I like winning medals and dropping my times,” mentioned Nicholson.
