It’s been a season to remember for Morgan Walker and it’s not over yet.
After winning five gold at the Alberta Summer Games and medalling twice at westerns, the 14-year-old from St. Albert will make her debut at the Legion Canadian Youth Track and Field Championships next week in Ottawa.
“It’s very exciting because it gives me an opportunity to compete and train with the best of the best in Canada,” said the member of the Edmonton Olympic Track and Field Club.
The Grade 9 Sir George Simpson student will compete in the midget female 100 and 200 metres, shot put and maybe some relays.
“I’m very nervous because I don’t know what it’s going to be like there, but it should be cool.”
Walker is striving for fast times of 25.3 seconds in the 200m, 12.5 in the 100m, plus “12 metres or a high 11” in shot put.
“My goal is try and make the podium and set new personal bests.”
She hasn’t lost a race outdoors in the 200m this year and only an ankle injury kept her out of the event final at westerns last weekend in Winnipeg. Her best showing is 25.46.
“I like the 200 metres. It’s my favourite race because no one can beat me in it and I’m really proud of that.”
At westerns Walker won her 200m heat with an effort of 26.35 but rolled her ankle while crossing the finish line.
“It’s a lot better now,” she said. “I will definitely be happy to be competing in the 200 metres at Legions because I was pretty upset I couldn’t do [the final] in Winnipeg.”
In the 100m Walker blew away the field as the youngest runner with a gold-medal winning time of 12.69 that was slightly off her PB of 12.64.
“It was really cool to see that all my training had paid off,” she said. “They were a bit older than me so I was really nervous to see how I would place.”
Walker was also awarded bronze in shot put with a heave of 9.90 metres. The farthest the five-foot-11 sprinter has thrown the three kilogram metal ball is 11.01m.
“I like to see how far you can really put it,” she said. “The technique and strength you need to put into it makes me go back to do it some more.”
Westerns was Walker’s first major out-of-provincial meet.
“It will help me for Legions because it gave me that experience of seeing what these other provinces had been training to do.”
Walker is one of the few first-year midgets in Alberta to make standards for Legions nationals.
“It was one of the things I was training for this year because it is a big meet, so when I qualified it really brought me joy.”
At the recent summer games in the Peace Country, Walker dominated the U15 division by winning the 100m (12.94 in a photo finish), 200m (26.59) and shot put (10.94m) and she also helped zone 5 finish first in the 4x100m (53.37) and medley (4:32.55) relays.
“I was surprised how well I did because it’s different athletes with all kinds of hidden talent that you don’t know about so just going there and seeing these different athletes competing and seeing how well they did was really cool.”
Walker is hitting her stride after only starting out in the sport in 2008.
“I’m very surprised how well I’m doing so far, especially with how young I am,” she said. “I just want to see how far it will take me.”
