Talking with a young Canadian record holder

Justyn Knight is an 18-year-old Canadian teenager from Toronto studying at Syracuse University in upstate New York. Justyn is also now a Canadian record holder in addition to being a two-time Canadian junior cross-country champion and world junior championships top-eight finisher over 5,000m.

Justyn started running in Grade 10 when his gym teacher thought he should work harder in class and pushed him to challenge himself in the running unit.

“He believed I had natural talent, and from there I joined the track team.”

It turns out his coach was right! Justyn has talent and his personal bests reflect it.

Last weekend Justyn ran the 5,000m at the Payton Jordan track meet in Palo Alto, Calif. Justyn flew across the line in 13:34.86, breaking Bruce Kidd’s 52-year-old Canadian junior record.

“The race went well. We started off on pace for 13:30 or so however it slowed down after the rabbit hopped out. There wasn’t much of a toll on my body during or after the race. I found the biggest challenge was getting into a good position and avoiding being put in a position where I might fall.”

Justyn’s PB’s:
800m: 1:52
1,500m: 3:39
5,000m: 13:34

I caught up with Justyn just after his record setting track meet to ask him a few questions.

What drives you to race and push yourself?

I have always been a competitor in everything I do. One quote that really speaks to how I feel about racing is: ‘I hate to lose more than they love to win, that’s the difference between me and them.’

Has some recent success made you more confident or changed how you race?

I don’t think it has really changed my confidence level going into races. I always like to think that anyone is beatable; you just have to be patient, put in the time and effort and you’ll be rewarded. Also, I feel that if you set high goals for yourself, you accomplish so much more on the way. However at the same time my races this year have brought positivity to my training, knowing that all the hard work has paid off so far.

What are your running goals for 2015 and beyond?

For the rest of the track season the goal is to compete for a medal in either the 1,500m or 5,000m event. As a competitive athlete, whether it is realistic or not, I have to prepare for NCAA’s with this mindset or else I may settle for results below my true potential. I haven’t talked to my coach much about plans after NCAA, however whatever decision we mutually decide on will be in the best interest of my growth as an athlete.

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