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Former Team Canada soccer player wins gold at world backwards running champs

Kat Clewley, a former member of Canada's soccer team, won multiple gold medals at the backwards running world championships in Germany.

Backwards running
July 17, 2016
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Backwards running
Photo via Kat Clewley on Twitter.

Canada’s lone representative at the sixth annual retro-running world championships in Essen, Germany will be returning home with an impressive haul of medals. Kat Clewley won three gold medals and is expected to contend for a fourth in the half-marathon on Sunday at the world backwards running championships.

She won the 5K in 25:24, according to her Twitter account, in addition to her 800m and 10K victories. Sunday is the fourth and final day of competition.

A total of 114 runners raced at the championships held in the German city located between Düsseldorf and Dortmund in the country’s western region.

Backwards running is known as retro-running internationally. The world championships are held every two years and has been held exclusively in Europe. Past host countries include Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Spain.

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The Burlington, Ont. resident is a former member of the Canadian women’s soccer team and competed at the Pan Am Games. Clewley was a goalkeeper for Team Canada.

She got into backwards running with the help of her dog, Vanilla. The YMCA manager wanted to maintain eye contact with Vanilla on runs and keep a tab on the canine’s tennis ball. Backwards running proved to be the best method.

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Last year, Clewley set a new world record for women by completing a marathon in Hamilton, Ont. in 4:48:42, all while running backwards.