At her first collegiate meet, Langley’s Eniko Sara threw 50.73 metres with the javelin in Las Vegas on March 6.
It surpassed her high school personal best of 44.6 metres and won her a spot with Team Canada at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships taking Aug. 17-22 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Lineup of the 15-member team (eight men and seven women), was released July 27.
As an up and coming Langley-based athlete, Sara was a regular presence on the podium, a five-time javelin and four-time high jump Provincial champion, with wins at the 2013 B.C. Junior Development Championships in Nanaimo, Pacific Invitational Track and Field Meet at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley in 2015, the 2016 BC Summer Games in Abbotsford, 2016 Rotary Bowl in Nanaimo, and the BC High School Track and Field Championships in Langley.
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She was also named 2018 Canadian U20 National Champion in Women’s Javelin, 2017 U16 National Champion in Women’s Javelin.
Now a freshman at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Sara is majoring in chemistry with an emphasis on biochemistry.
The 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships are viewed as a stepping stone for Canadian athletes to pursue their goals of qualifying, competing and medalling at future world championships and Olympic games.
Team Canada Head Coach Jason Reindl described the championships as a “huge event on the pathway towards international senior teams.”
“If we look at Camryn Rogers and Lauren Gale who were both members of the 2018 U20 team and are now in Tokyo, it is a great indicator of international senior opportunities,” Reindl opined.
Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani will be spectator-free to protect the athletes, coaches and support personnel, all operating inside a ‘bubble’ that limits access to the competition venue and team hotel.
All Team Canada members – athletes and staff – have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
For more information on the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, click here.
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Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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