When Brittney Yurek spoke with OrilliaMatters before competing at the provincial track and field championship, she said she wanted to “make it a golden year.”
Mission accomplished.
The Grade 12 Twin Lakes Secondary School athlete ran away with the gold medal in the 100-metre dash at the recent Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) event.
While gold was the goal, Yurek accomplished another feat at OFSAA that she is just as proud of: winning bronze in the 800-metre race.
“It felt pretty surreal,” Yurek said Thursday at Twin Lakes. “I’m not particularly a distance runner to begin with.”
With this being her senior year in high school, she decided to go for it.
“I’ve never been a distance runner, but I figured it’s Grade 12 and I have two chances to win a medal. Why not?”
Seeming calm and cool on the outside, Yurek, who has cerebral palsy, admitted she was nervous going into the 800-metre race in the ambulatory category.
“I didn’t know what those other girls have been through,” she said of her opponents.
One was a single-leg amputee, while the other had suffered leg injuries in a car crash. Yurek described her competition as “some of the nicest” girls she has raced against, but that didn’t curb her competitiveness. She finished third in a time of 3:36.69.
In the 100-metre dash, she knew early the gold was hers.
“Mid-race, I knew I had quite the gap on the girls I was against,” Yurek said. “Fifty metres in, I knew I had it.”
She crossed the finish line in 18.07 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of second place.
After her performance at regionals, which qualified her for OFSAA, it was expected she would impress at provincials. During the qualifier, she broke two regional records. The record for the 100-metre dash had been 18.16 since 2004. Yurek ran it in 18.08. She also smashed the four-year-old 800-metre record of 5:07.68, finishing in a time of 3:43.28.
The OFSAA win was exciting. So, too, was the medal ceremony. Olympic silver-medallist Andre De Grasse presented Yurek with her gold medal.
“That meant a lot,” she said. “We’re both sprinters. Not everybody gets that opportunity.”
The Canadian Olympian also autographed Yurek’s race bib.
The entire experience was one Yurek will not soon forget. The same goes for her coach, Andrew Corry.
“It was an emotional moment to see her cross the finish line,” Corry said, adding the story of Yurek’s personal struggles over the years “makes it all the more commendable.”
“Most people would cave, but she didn’t give up.”
He noted Yurek has improved remarkably since she first ran the 100-metre dash three years ago. She has shaved six seconds off her time.
“She’s full of grit and resilience and determination,” Corry said.
The right attitude also helps.
“On a personal level, you have to believe you’re able to do it,” Yurek said.
