Kitimat’s ace race walker Ben Thorne has made yet another personal achievement, securing a spot on the Canadian team that will compete in the Commonwealth Games in Australia later this year.
Thorne, who now lives in Vancouver, will be on a plane to Brisbane on the Gold Coast on March 30 to compete in a race on April 8.
“I will definitely be in the running for a medal. I am pretty close to what it takes to win a Commonwealth medal,” said Thorne.
This is Thorne’s first appearance at the Games, currently ranked number five in the Commonwealth.
“I would like to think I’m actually in second or third spot,” said Thorne.
He said he is more focused on winning a medal going into the Games, which he said is going to be a tough task considering how well the British, Australian and South African race walkers are currently doing.
The Commonwealth Games are the only major games Thorne hasn’t raced at and he is taking training seriously.
“Because it rains in Vancouver so much I’m attending a training camp in Arizona in February. I’ll also be racing in Mexico at the end of February in preparation for the Games,” said Thorne.
When he was last featured in the Sentinel, Thorne was on his way to London to compete at the 2017 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in London in August last year.
“My race in London didn’t go well. The whole team got sick – it was a disaster for the Canadian team,” said Thorne.
The team came down with Norwalk, sometimes referred to as the ‘winter vomiting bug’.
Thorne is hoping for a better result for the team this year.
He is currently still at the University of British Columbia where he is studying towards a degree in mechanical engineering.
“I have a couple of months left before I graduate. I’ve been studying for seven years already – far too long,” said Thorne.
He took a break from his studies and training to visit his family in Kitimat over Christmas, taking part in one of his favourite pastimes, cross country skiing.
His parents, who normally go along to the major events, have travel plans of their own this year and won’t be joining him in Australia and will be watching the Games on TV.
Thorne, who only started race walking around 2010 when he was still in Kitimat, admits that he wasn’t serious at first and only started training seriously in 2012.
He had a few words of encouragement for young athletes interested in taking up race walking.
“A lot of young athletes who haven’t tried race walking should try it out. Who knows, they might have a hidden talent lurking somewhere,” said Thorne.
He said there isn’t a lot of competition in Canada and that it’s quite easy to get to a high level in the sport.
“The main thing is that young athletes must just stick with it and keep practising,” said Thorne.