Kaylee Clark, a grade 10 student at Gananoque Secondary School, took home gold in Junior Girls javelin at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) Track and Field Championships, held June 6 – 8 at the University of Guelph.
A total of 23 athletes from across the province participated in the javelin event on Saturday afternoon.
Clark threw a personal best of 41.73m, which was 3.71m farther than the silver medalist from Sudbury, Lauren Fearn.
It was a historic occasion for Gananoque Secondary School.
Clark is the first athlete from G.S.S to ever win a gold medal at the OFSSA tournament.
“It was a crazy experience,” said, Clark.
“I can’t believe what I just did. Everybody was congratulating me. I haven’t been able to process it. It’s just crazy.”
The 15-year-old didn’t pick up a javelin until two years ago. She didn’t qualify for OFSSA in 2018 but with the help of coach Cara Lemkay, things started to fall into place.
“Cara taught me to balance my strength with a javelin technique,” said Clark.
“I struggled for a while but Cara kept giving me tips and exercises to improve my throws. I just kept getting better and I owe everything to my coach. I couldn’t have done it without her help.”
This was Clark’s first time competing at the OFSAA level. This school year, Clark placed first at the Leeds and Grenville Secondary Schools Athletic Association (LGSSAA), the Eastern Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (EOSSAA) in Brockville, and the OFSAA East Regional Track and Field Championships at Mary Ann Sills Park in Belleville.
Clark improved her personal best throw progressively at each meet.
This summer she plans to continue training with the Brockville Legion Track and Field Club in preparation for next year’s competition.
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