Royal Bay secondary’s Brea Christie could hardly believe her eyes when she crossed the finish line in the girls’ 400 metre hurdles event at provincials.
That’s because the Grade 12 athlete had just shattered her personal best by a full five seconds, good enough to give her provincial gold.
“Crossing the finish line my mouth just dropped. I was so surprised … it was just an unbelievable feeling.”
Christie, who previously finished second at the Island championships to qualify for the Langley meet, had set a goal of a podium finish.
The future University of Victoria soccer player had to regroup after a disappointing 100 metre race the day before the 400 metre race.
“I felt like maybe it was a lot of my mentality going into it too,” she said, adding that her time in the heats for the 400 metre race was just good enough to qualify her for the finals.
Between soccer and her part-time job, Christie had little time to train for hurdles this year, further stacking the odds against her.
But after a slow start in the finals, Christie finished with a flourish to not only make the podium, but finish on the top step.
“I just had the energy at the end and I felt like all the other girls tired out because they started out so fast,” she said.
Also earning a medal at provincials was Belmont secondary’s Eli Nelms-Horton, who took home a bronze in the boys’ 100 metre race.
joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com
Twitter: @joelgazette