333 days. That’s how many days it’s been since Keira Christie-Galloway stepped on to the track at Clemson University to open her 2022-23 competition season. Tonight she steps on to the track in the Julio Martinez National Stadium in Santiago, Chile for the opening round of the 100 metre hurdles at the Pan American Games.
For Keira, by all accounts, this competition year has been a long one, but she’s found the necessary balance to feel rested heading into her second Pan Am Games, while still staying sharp. She attributes much of her preparation to mental strength and just showing up everyday as well as taking the necessary space to do the things she enjoys on the weekend.
“It is important to have balance,” says Christie-Galloway of her approach to this long season. ”For me that looks like cooking and baking, which has helped me ground myself in preparation for the games.”
She admits that she is looking forward to taking some time to rest after a long season that has seen her step into the starting blocks nearly 30 times.
As a graduate student-athlete at Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Keira re-wrote the Antelopes record book in what was her final year of NCAA competition. The Arizona State graduate broke the GCU indoor hurdles mark in February with a run of 8.17 seconds that equalled her four-year old best. Outdoors got even faster as she blazed her way to a time of a lifetime best of 13.01 to win the Western Athletic Conference outdoor title.
After qualifying for her second NCAA Championship, Keira’s summer season remained relatively quiet in the lead-up to Santiago. Just two races at the Canadian Championships in Langley, where she finished fourth.
While not competing, she did have the opportunity to join her partner Turner Washington at the World Championships in Hungary. Washington was a member of Team USA in the discus after placing second at their national championships.
Sharing Turner’s experiences throughout the season and witnessing his achievement of competing at the World Championships has been a valuable source of inspiration and support for Keira in her preparations for Santiago.
“We have leaned on each other a lot this past season and I have been able to accomplish a lot with his support.”
As she heads into tonight’s race, Keira can draw upon her past experiences. Four years ago in Lima, Peru she was the youngest member of Canada’s athletics team at just 19 years old. She says her take away from the Championship was to run her own race and be confident in her own abilities.
Keira’s semi-final is scheduled for 5:25 pm Eastern, where she will be running to qualify for Wednesday’s final.
“I hope to take in this opportunity and really cherish the memories I will be making.”
You can watch Keira compete live on CBC Gem.