Talking with one of Canada’s fastest runners: Khamica Bingham
One of Canada's top sprinters opens up about her goals, racing plans and embarrassing moments she's had in her running career.
Khamica Bingham is one of the fastest women in Canada, a two-time world championship finalist and a Pan Am bronze medalist. Her dream has always been to compete in the Olympic Games, but not originally for track and field.
Bingham was a national gymnast, and her Olympic hopes were shattered after her parents struggled financially to keep her in the sport. She found sprinting exciting and thrilling as a child and knew it could be a new opportunity to make it to the Olympics one day.
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It turned out that Bingham’s athletic talent was not just limited to gymnastics. She focused on running, landing herself in the top rankings in Canada for track and field with coach Frank Bucca. She became a rising star and highly recruited for full scholarships to the U.S. after becoming the top 100m sprinter in Canada for her age.
Bingham was added to the senior women’s 4x100m relay team (slotted for the anchor position) while still a junior, making her the youngest sprinter on the team running the anchor leg position. She attended her first world championships in Russia where Canada finished in an incredible sixth place.
In 2015, Bingham had an exceptional year. She anchored the women’s 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Relays, finishing fourth by 0.01 of a second and earning Canada a spot in Rio. A few months later, she blazed to her first national 100m title, qualifying individually in the 100m and 200m as well. She was selected to be a part of the Pan Am Games team held in Toronto, and anchored the 4x100m relay to a bronze medal. With Rio around the corner, she has her eyes set on more international success while leaving her mark behind to inspire the younger generations. See Bingham’s times as well as a Q & A with her below.
Khamica’s times
100m 11.3
200m 22.84
60m 7.19
What is your plan leading up to the Rio Olympics?
Currently, the goal is to stay as healthy as possible. I’ve already qualified individually and for the relay for Rio, so right now it’s about working on my race plan, which would be more the technical aspect of my race. I’m breaking down the 100m into phases and I know exactly what I am supposed to be doing at each so I can go even faster. I plan to do a few meets overseas against international competition and then run at nationals to officially qualify for the Olympic team.
If all the stars aligned, what race, medal, record or run would leave you happy at the end of your career?
If all the stars aligned, I believe that winning the 100m in a world leading time at the Olympic Games would be my ultimate dream. To have entire family and friends and sponsors cheering for me and knowing I made my country proud would be the perfect way to end my career.
What does it feel like to run faster than most people will ever be capable of?
I don’t usually think about it like that because I’m always trying to better myself and reach towards those who are faster than me. It’s a blessing that I’m given the opportunity to push and work hard for my dreams and I just hope that in doing so, I can inspire others.
Anything funny, silly or personal you want to share about yourself with other runners?
So, this is one of my most embarrassing track stories ever… two days before my 100m heats at the Beijing World Championships, I was doing a block start and somehow I tripped myself and I fell flat on my face in front of everyone at the warm-up track. I looked like a wounded puppy. All day people kept asking me if I was a hurdler or something or if someone had ran into me, but no, I just tripped over myself while running.
Follow Bingham on Twitter at @micabingham.
Do you have a running story to tell?
You can catch Noel at runningwriter@hotmail.com on Twitter @NoelPaine or on his personal blog.
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