Omar Medina leapt to four gold medals at the Spruce Capital Invitational Meet.
The 15-year-old sprinted to the finish line in the 100m and 200m dashes for boys 14-15 before showing off his jumping abilities to take gold in the high jump and in his specialty, the long jump.
"Running gives you the speed and quickness that's vital for the long jump," said Medina. "Everything works towards the long jump."
In his final event of the two-day meet at Masich Place Stadium, the Prince George Track and Field Club (PGTFC) member flew 5.81m in the sandpit to finish on top of the nine-athlete field. Tyrell Laing placed second with a jump of 5.41m. Medina and Laing were the only two jumpers to break the five-metre mark.
The golden performance at the annual Spruce Capital meet came a week after Medina won the silver medal in long jump at the 2013 B.C. High School Track and Field Championship in Langley and qualified for the Legion Canadian Youth Track and Field Championship, Aug. 7-13 at McLeod Athletic Park in Langley.
"It was disappointing," said Medina about the silver medal.
The gold medalist at the high school meet, from Vancouver, flew a distance of 6.02m, while Medina only reached 6.01m.
Medina moved away from his family in Valemount in April in order to train full time with the PGTFC, while completing his Grade 9 studies online. Last year, Medina waited until after school was complete before billeting with his coach Steph Gouin during the summer.
"Last year I only got a little taste of what it could be like and they tell me I could become a lot better at what I'm doing if I train more," said Medina.
Since the Medina family left their home in Guaymas, Mexico in 2008 to live in Valemount for a year they also called Edmonton home for two years before returning to Valemount in 2011.
Kris Gaiesky discovered Medina at an elementary school track meet and encouraged him to join the PGTFC.
"He just stood out from everyone else," said Gaiesky. "He's actually well developed for his age."
Medina ran the 100m dash in 11.84 seconds Saturday and finished the 200m dash in 24.35 seconds Sunday. There were 10 runners in the 100m dash and five runners in the 200m. In his first competition in the high jump since Grade 7, Medina broke 1.55m - his personal best is 1.60m.
"That was just for fun," said Medina. "[Tom Masich] said I have a natural high jumping ability, but I'm not sure if I'm going to go down that path."
Long jump may be his focus right now but, Medina said he sometimes misses his other favourite sport when he gazes across Massey Dr. from the Masich Place.
"I see all the diamonds and miss it, but with track I don't have time," he said.
When the Medina family lived in Edmonton he played for the peewee triple-A Cardinals, part of the South Edmonton Elite Baseball Association.
Medina said he's considering moving to Prince George permanently to join the PacificSport Northern B.C. Sport School.
