Adam Sieben has been the jackrabbit measuring stick every runner in the Prince George Track and Field Club tries to emulate.
Last year, he shredded the competition in the 400-metre event at the B.C. High School Provincial Championships and this year the Duchess Park Secondary School Grade 11 student has taken his sprinter’s role to new heights.
The 17-year-old Sieben been selected to the 11-male, nine-female Canadian team to compete in the 100m and 200m events at the North American Central American and Caribbean under-18 Athletics Championships in Costa Rica, July 21-23.
It will be his first time to fly the Canadian flag in an athletic event.
Sieben’s best time in the 100 m is 10.8 seconds and his 200m PB is 22.11 seconds.
“He’s a quick boy,” said Ross Browne, head coach of the Prince George Track and Field Club. “I think that hard work has paid off. Even with the short season we have, Adam has proven you don’t have to do it all year. You don’t need the big-budget sports teams and we can make those types of athletes her in Prince George.”
Sieben becomes the first PGTFC member to represent Canada in an international track and field event since high jumper Alyx Treasure. The 2016 Olympian had a nine-year career competing against the best in the world from 2010-2018.
The northern B.C. climate and the timing of the outdoor track and field season, with most events during the summer months, puts Prince George athletes at a competitive disadvantage compared to athletes from more temperate climates that allow them to train longer outdoors in snow-free conditions.
But that hasn’t stopped Sieben from climbing to the top of the heap in his home country, and his coach uses him as an example to other local athletes that anything is possible if the will to succeed is there.
“The biggest thing I’ve been telling athletes is we can compete with the kids in the Lower Mainland and we can compete with the programs in Vancouver and Adam has been a shining example of that,” said Browne. “He’s a multisport athlete who does basketball in the winter (he played point guard for the Duchess Park Condors senior team), he’s a football enthusiast, but the thing that really sets him apart is when springtime comes and the snow is finally melted in late April he commits himself wholly to track and I think that’s what elevates him among his peers.”
Sieben was a surprise qualifier for the 100 and 200 events at this year’s B.C. High School meet in early June in Langley because he hadn’t focused on those distances in training. A hip injury forced to pull out of the high school meet before he could race.
He’s had time to recover and Browne expects him to be on top of his game in Costa Rica.
“He really has short speed and what some people would call long speed, he has it all, he’s a complete sprinter,” said Browne. “He’s kind of a coach’s dream as far as sprinters go, there are no weaknesses.”
Sieben also plans to travel to Sherbrooke, Que., Aug. 11-13 for the Legion Youth National Track and Field Championships.
