Natalie Thompson of the Lakeland Yellowjackets gained valuable experience representing Alberta at the Canada Summer Games.
The best young athletes provinces can offer gathered in Winnipeg, MB, for the games from July 28 to Aug. 13.
Competing over two-days at the University of Manitoba, 17-year-old Thompson held her ground against some of the best in the sport.
On the first day of the triple jump competition (Aug. 1), Thompson's jumps of 11.65 and 11.62-metres were enough to earn her a place in the final on Aug. 3.
Thompson posted a score of 11.37-metres in the final, which secured her a top 10 finish.
“She came in 10th place out of 24 competitors, that ranged all the way from 17 to 21-years-old. Being that she's 17, that finish is a major accomplishment,” said Yellowjackets coach Larry Godziuk.
Heading into the games, Thompson had set a goal of reaching 12-metres, which would have put her on the podium. After seeing what it takes to succeed on the national level, she is even more motivated to take her game to the next level.
“My goal was to make finals and I'm really happy that I was able to. It was really neat to be in the finals competing with girls who were putting on their best performance,” said Thompson. “I now know what the competition is like for people in their prime. It makes me want to build myself to that level for the next Canada Summer Games.”
Over the course of the competition, Thompson studied the way returning members of Team Alberta handled the games.
Drawing inspiration from the success of these returnees, she has her sights firmly set on a top three finish at the next Canada Summer Games.
“I've seen girls on our team who were there for the second time and won. I think it would be a super cool experience to go from the youngest to the oldest and win. It just makes me want to train harder, because next time I want to go in and leave with a medal,” expressed Thompson.
Now that the games are done, Thompson will be taking a little bit of a break from training. Once the season starts up, her coach expects her to give everything she has into improving.
“She's very focused and doesn't mind taking on extra work, or hard work. I give her quite a bit to do throughout the week during the season. She always dedicates time out of her day to make sure it gets done and it shows in her results,” said Godziuk.
Thompson will use her senior year to prepare for the Western Canada Summer Games, and the Pan American Games in two years.
After establishing her place on the national stage, Thompson took a second to reflect on a whirlwind year.
“It was really awesome to go from competing on Team Zone 7 at the Alberta Games last year, to competing with the best of the best at the Canada Summer Games.”
