Ciceran records personal best at nationals
Cole Ciceran’s best was good enough to medal at the Youth Nationals in Sydney, N.S.
The 15-year-old Governor Simcoe student took home bronze in the under-16 boys pentathlon with a personal best score of 2,656 points.
Ciceran was one of seven athletes who represented the Thorold Elite Track and Field club at the competition.
The winner of the event was a runaway, but the remaining medals were going to determined by the fifth and final event of the pentathlon, the 1,000-metre run. Ciceran came on strong in the final race and ran a personal best of 2:58.62, enough to move himself up into the medal position.
“Me and my coach (Steven Fife) like to predict things and figure out what’s going to happen and what we need to do to prepare ourselves,” Ciceran said. “We knew there were five people which is the most I’ve ever gone against. Normally it’s just myself or another guy.
“I had set a goal to get at least second place and I came out with the bronze.”
Ciceran said he was pushed to the limit.
“The competition was a little unpredictable at first. It was sort of all over the place. At one point, I was in second place after long jump,” he said. “It really pushed me to go a lot harder and faster than I previously could go.”
Ciceran was primarily a high jumper and long jumper when he joined the club in March 2018.
“When he expressed interest in trying hurdles, the multi-event (which consists of high jump, long jump, hurdles, shot put, and 1,000 metres) seemed like a logical next step,” Fife said. “Although he did not like shot put, he still took on the task of training for the pentathlon.”
Ciceran was also a national champion in the pentathlon at Indoor Nationals in Montreal in March 2019. Despite his success in the pentathlon he isn’t planning on pursuing a decathlon next year. His events are wide open and he will continue exploring all of the options, even going out for cross country in the fall.
“I’m kind of experimenting now,” he said.
BPSN’s coverage of the track and field season is made possible with the support of the Niagara Olympic Club (https://nocrunners.com).
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