If sprinter Tyler Loth had any doubts he's healed from a frightening injury that wiped out his chance of a medal last year at the B.C. high school track and field championships, his performance in Saturday's Sub Zero Meet put those worries to rest.
The 16-year-old Kelly Road secondary student dug his spikes into the blue rubber track at Masich Place Stadium and showed his heels to the rest of his senior boys peers, winning the 100-metre run.
On a cool, blustery day, but without the predicted snowfall, Loth and about 200 other athletes from eight northern B.C. clubs gathered for the one-day meet and he started his day with a win in the 400m run.
"My hip was a little stiff in my 400 and when I ran the 100 It felt way better," said Loth. "I was pretty nervous this morning."
Eleven months ago at the provincial meet in Langley, Loth was about 60 metres into his race when he felt a sharp pain in his side and dropped to the track after breaking a piece of bone off his hip.
"When I came out of the blocks my hip was a bit stiff but I just went through it and didn't think it was a big deal and I kind of collapsed at the end and (the injury) chipped the bone," said Loth.
The injury took fifth months to repair itself and he's hoping his pain is past him permanently as he tackles the new season gearing up for his next shot at a provincial medal, May 30-June 1 in Kelowna.
Loth has had bad luck at the past two provincial high school meets. In 2017, also in Langley, he leaned forward fighting for a top finish in the 100m event and ended up falling headfirst, which left him with a concussion.
He's always been a fast runner and that's what got him started in track when he competed in his first elementary relay as a Heather Park student and won. This is his third season with the Prince George Track and Field Club.
"He's coming back from an injury and this is a good meet to start to build his confidence up and get the kinks out," said PGTFC sprint coach Cathy Johnson.
"Tyler's extremely talented and he's ready to go. The goal was to see how the hip felt and he didn't have any problems so he's good to go. We've got a plan in place with some technical elements we're putting together for his race and it's coming along quite nicely."
Loth doesn't usually enter the 400m event but once he learned there was no 200m race for his age category at the Sub Zero Meet he decided to put his name in for the mid-distance race.
"I almost passed out coming across the last corner," he said.
Sophia Mahmoud, a 15-year-old Duchess Park hurdler, also gave the Sub Zero 400m race a try and despite her numb legs in the final 100 metres she won the event handily.
"I think it was good for my first 400," said Mahmoud, who was second in her 100m race. "I've done the 400 relay but this was the first just 400. The new track is so nice, so bouncy and so much prettier now. It's a lot better than our old track."
Mahmoud plans to focus on the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles as her primary events but also will compete this season in long jump and the 100m and 200m sprints. Jumping three-foot-high hurdles requires speed, flexibility and nerves of steel and the five-foot-three Mahmoud, despite her lack of stature, has a long history of winning hurdles at the north central zone championship. Last year she finished sixth in the 300m hurdles at the provincial finals in Langley.
"In Grade 6 and my coach (Steph Gouin) said I should try hurdles and at first I jumped over with two feet but I actually ended up really liking it and kept continuing," said Mahmoud.
Getting tripped up at sprint speed is one of the hazards of hurdles and Mahmoud has had her share of cuts and bruises but usually takes those wipeouts in stride. She's always been a bit of a daredevil and the thrill of racing provides her an adrenaline rush like no other.
"I've hit multiple hurdles and when you hit it you just keep going," Mahmoud said.
Mahmoud, 15, started out with the now-defunct Athletics North Track and Field Club, then spent a couple years training on her own when the club dissolved. She joined the PGTFC two seasons ago.
"She's a great girl with a great attitude and amazing potential as a hurdler," said Johnson. "You have to have no fear and be patient and have good co-ordination and she's got that.
The $4.6 million renovation to Masich Place Stadium to bring it up to speed for the 2022 B.C. Summer Games pushed the PGTFC out of its home for nearly two full seasons and the club athletes had to relocate to Lakewood field. Saturday's event was the first meet at Masich since the North Central zone meet in May 2016. The bright blue track, green field turf infield and new jumping/throwing areas has been an eye-catching lure which has swelled membership in the local track club and some of those athletes are fast enough to push Loth in practice.
"Every year there's more members joining in and it's like doubled since the track's been built, there's a lot more competition," Loth said.
The PGTFC held indoor workouts from January-March at the Northern Sport Centre but had to wait two weeks before the city would allow the club to use the stadium. That means they've got some catching up to do to compared to their peers in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island where they can train outdoors year round.
Prince George will host the north central zone championships May 14-15. The club will also host the Spruce Capital meet at Masich, June 8-9.
A large PGTFC contingent will travel to Kamloops this weekend for the Dylan Armstrong Classic meet. Loth is looking forward to the competition but doesn't like the idea of a six-hour highway trip to get there.
"I get carsick, I don't like the bumps and turns," he said. "I always have Gravol when I'm driving."
