Not many athletes get the opportunity to say they won a medal at a world championship. Over the weekend, Lions runner Kyra Lauter got that opportunity, taking home a bronze medal from the Spartan Kids World Championship in Sebring, Florida.
The Franco-Ouest grade nine student placed third in the 12-14 year old category, completing the two mile course in 24 minutes and 23 seconds. The Spartan race is not your average cross country race though, incorporating between 15 and 20 obstacles for athletes to overcome such as rope climbing, spear throwing, and conquering a six foot wall on the way to the finish line.
Kyra qualified for the World Championships after a pair of podium finishes in local races this past summer. First was a silver medal performance at the Ottawa Spartan Race in May followed by a victory in Mont-Tremblant a month later.
The 14-year-old’s success in the Spartan Races is not unique among Club members. Reigning Canadian U20 3000 metre steeplechase silver medallist Louise Stonham won bronze in the same 12-14 age category at the 2019 Spartan Kids World Championships.
Lauter’s result in Florida marked the end to a very successful fall season in which she placed 56th in the novice girls race at the OFSAA Cross Country Championships and followed it up by being the Lions fifth scorer on the Ontario Champion U16 girls cross country team.