At the tender age of 14 Innisfail’s Brayden Posyluzny has only been competing in track and field for two years.
But already he is a provincial record holder.
Last month at the Tri-Province Meet in Regina he earned a silver medal in the triple jump event for 14-year-olds. In doing so he set the new standard in length for that age by jumping a distance of 11.48 metres.
“I was very surprised. I knew I could get a provincial record but I didn’t think I’d beat it by 20 centimetres. I thought I’d do it by five,” said Posyluzny, who is entering Gr. 9 in September at Innisfail Junior Senior High School. “On my first jump I broke the record. On the second I beat it again by five centimeters.”
And to add to his great performance in triple jump, the young athlete also came home with a bronze medal in the discus competition with a throw of 36.52 metres.
It has been a remarkable year for Posyluzny who also turned heads in spring at a Chinook's Edge School Division meet, which featured teams from Red Deer, Olds, Lacombe and Sylvan Lake. He came first in the 100-metre sprint, 200-metre run, triple jump and was on the winning four by 100-metre relay team.
He said his confidence was building heading into the Regina meet. In the two years he has been with track he has evolved to become an excellent all round athlete who is excelling at many track events.
“I used to like other sports but track is what I am focusing on. I like it so much I really think it is my sport,” said Posyluzny, who is constantly training to find new ways of getting faster, stronger and better. “I know I wanted to push myself to get that record. I kept practicing and practicing. I broke down every step and I started doing more leg power drills, balance and agility drills. I worked on my speed and control to get through the jump.”
To help inspire him even further Posyluzny has a clear goal in track – a university scholarship. And to help him reach that goal the young man has an important inspirational figure close at hand – his father Darren, a local corrections officer who at the age of 42 is still a dedicated track and field athlete. Darren is competing later this month in a multi-sport event, which will include swimming, track and rope climbing events, at the 2011 World Police & Fire Games in New York City.
“I am doing more events. My dad says I could have potential in multi-event sports, like decathlon,” he said. “If I do really good I hope to get a scholarship. I am dedicated. I am striving to do really good. If I can get a scholarship for a multi-sport event like decathlon that would be great.”
