16-year-old beats a field of pros and collegiates, smashes Canadian youth record
Winnipeg's Victoria Tachinski, 16, defeated a field of pros and collegiates at the Music City Distance Carnival on Saturday setting a new Canadian record (Photo via Instagram).
Vincent Massey High School student and 16-year-old Victoria Tachinski ran the fastest ever time by a Canadian youth on Saturday at the Music City Distance Carnival in the Nashville, Tenn. area. The Winnipeg resident beat a field of collegiates and professionals to win the women’s 800m in 2:03.58.
“Going into the race I felt really good, I’m trying to make the Canadian junior team for worlds so this was a benchmark race for me,” says Tachinski. “[Making that team] has been my goal for the past few years.”
She broke Carly Paracholski’s previous record of 2:05.99 set in 2010.
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Among the athletes the 16-year-old beat were Marilyn Okoro, a world championship medallist and Ersula Farrow, a standout runner in the American collegiate system. Tachinski was more focused on running a personal best than setting a new Canadian record, often a good mindset in athletics.
Tachinski, who turns 17 in mid-June, set three Canadian youth indoor records in the winter including in the 300m, 400m and 600m. She’s preparing for the world junior championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 19-24. Her time on Saturday is six seconds under the world junior standard, which is open to athletes born as early as 1997, two years older than Tachinski.
Saturday’s competition was held at Middle Tennessee State University.
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According to the world governing body for athletics, her previous personal best heading in Saturday’s action was 2:06.88. In April, Tachinski ran 53.72 in Long Beach, Calif. and she’s expected to race again in two weeks time at New Balance Nationals Outdoor from June 17-19.
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Can't put into words how much of a beast @victoriatach is. So proud of you and to see your hard work pay off! ?????
— Deric (@dericruns) June 5, 2016
In addition to running, Tachinski is also a national champion in flag football, a hockey player and a provincial all-star in basketball.
You can watch the full post-race interview with Tachinski here. Footage of the race can be found here (subscription required).
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