U of S athlete finishes seventh at international track competition

Avery Pearson competed on behalf of the University of Saskatchewan across the ocean before she even sat down in a Saskatoon lecture hall.

The 18-year-old Meadow Lake track athlete just returned from competing at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where she placed seventh in the women’s 800-metre race.

She was the only Canadian to place in the top eight and set a personal best with a time of two minutes 6.42 seconds.

Team Canada comprised 14 athletes, all from the Huskies. All were between the ages of 18 and 20.

Pearson’s impressive start with the U of S came after she chose to attend the university because of its proximity to home and family connections.

“It’s a great school and I already knew some of the coaches like Jason Reindl and Jamie Epp from meeting them while I was still in high school,” said Pearson, who added her parents, grandparents, and brothers also attended the university. “I knew a lot of the athletes and I just felt very welcomed and I’m just really excited.”

Pearson’s love for track started as early as elementary school.

“In Grade 5, we had this mini-marathon run and … I was always pretty competitive. It kind of started there,” she explained. “My family’s always been active so once I started running, I just kind of really enjoyed it and was naturally good at it.”

Later, in junior high and high school, Pearson fell further in love with the sport and its training.

“I really fell in love with the hard work you put in to see how fast you can get, just to see the hard work pay off in racing,” she said.

The transition to the university track team is a big change, but it’s one Pearson is excited to finally undertake.

“For me, it’s very different because where I live, in my small town, we don’t have a track team so I’m training on my own without a team and my dad just coaches me,” she said.

Finally having a team and coaches, however, doesn’t change the individuality of her sport and the mental toughness required — something which Pearson has in spades and showcased in her Nairobi race.

Ranked 19th in the world heading into the competition, Pearson said she wasn’t expecting much but did have high expectations for herself to see how she could do when competing against top female runners from other countries.

“I ended up winning my heat and so I made it to the semis and then I ended up making it to the finals and then I got seventh,” she said excitedly.

She said racing in the Canadian singlet was an honour and she had a crowd of hometown support cheering her on in Meadow Lake.

“A lot of people from my community watched on the (livestream) and supported me and I think having that Canadian flag just connects people,” Pearson said.

The U of S team underwent multiple COVID-19 tests both prior to and after arriving in Africa.

The team remained in what Reindl called a “true bubble,” only ever leaving the hotel to travel to the stadium for practices and competition each day. Though that meant the team didn’t get to take in any traditional tourism, Pearson said it was a treat to travel.

“(Nairobi) is a beautiful city. This track stadium was so huge. I’ve never even ran in a stadium so that was a big shock so I was just in awe the whole time,” she said with a smile.

“It was a tight team. We all kind of bonded … we really enjoyed each other’s company.”

The team also got to interact with athletes from other countries who were in their hotel, and Pearson got to speak with some of the women she competed against after her races. As is common for athletes who travel to compete, Pearson came home with a Slovenia T-shirt courtesy of another athlete.

“Representing your country … is just such a surreal experience,” Pearson said. “I’m so proud of it.”