Georgia Ellenwood was a three-time participant at the Canadian Legion track and field championships, but the first time they are being held in her own back yard 鈥� 91原创鈥檚 McLeod Park 鈥� she will be volunteering instead of competing.
But that鈥檚 OK with the 91原创 teen.
鈥淚 prefer to travel (for my competitions) anyways,鈥� she said with a laugh.
Instead, Ellenwood will help out as part of the hurdles crew.
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They feature 1,000 of the top youth athletes in the sport from across the country, and many of them may be just like Ellenwood and go on to represent Canada in their later years.
Ellenwood, who turns 18 on Aug. 5, is one of Canada鈥檚 preeminent track and field stars.
She is representing in Colombia at the end of August 鈥� her third international competition 鈥� and then leaves for her freshman season with the . All of this is in pursuit of her ultimate dream of representing Canada at the Olympic Games.
She is being touted as a potential participant for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
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Competing at the Legion track and field championships in 2010 as a 15-year-old was a real eye-opener for Ellenwood.
The Legion championships are an annual track and field meet for the top Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17.
Prior to that event, Ellenwood was accustomed to dominating meets.
The month before the Legion championships, .
But this was her first time at a national meet and while she still did extremely well 鈥� a gold in the high jump, silver in the long jump, 1600 sprint relay and the 4x100 relay, and also fourth in the 200m hurdles 鈥� it was an eye-opener for someone who was used to finishing first in every event they entered.
鈥淏efore that, I was winning everything,鈥� Ellenwood explained.
鈥淎nd then I got there, and saw the competition and it was kind of humbling.鈥�
The experience taught her something.
鈥淎fter that, I knew what it took to get to the top,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 realized I really needed to work if I wanted to get there.鈥�
Ellenwood attended the Legion championships twice more, winning gold in the heptathlon in 2011 and then gold in the 200m and long jump in 2012.
She has already represented her country internationally, both at the world youth (17 and under) track and field championships in 2010 in France and then at the world junior (19 and under) track and field championships in Spain last year. Both times she competed as an underage athlete.
Next up will be Colombia and then hopefully, in three years time, Rio de Janeiro and the Olympics.
She has spent time in Arizona training with the , which aims to identify elite young athletes and help them train as they work towards the Olympics and world championships.
For Ellenwood it is all in pursuit of the ultimate dream: the Olympics.
鈥淚 always thought of the world youths as my first Olympics,鈥� Ellenwood said.
鈥淚 am still so young and have a lot to work on, but that is my long-term goal.鈥�
Ellenwood will track the current elite heptathlon athletes and compare her scores now to when they were her age to see how she measures up.
And while some teenagers may have a tough time waiting for something three years down the road, that is not a problem for Ellenwood.
鈥淚 would be impatient (for the Olympics) if I was already at that level, but I still have so much to work on that I am going to need these three years,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 am going to use those three years wisely.鈥�
Moving away from home 鈥� and her long-time coaches with the 91原创 Mustangs Track and Field Club, Kim Chapdelaine, Dwayne Lotnick and Tom Nielsen 鈥� will be an adjustment.
鈥淭hey are always helping me through everything,鈥� Ellenwood said.
鈥淚f I need an extra workout, I just have to text them and they will meet me at the track.鈥�
鈥淎nd my parents can be hard on me 鈥� 鈥榶ou need to work on this, you need to work on that鈥� 鈥� it can almost be like having five coaches, but it has really helped me to get to where I am.鈥�
She will also have to adjust to less family support in person as at most local meets, Ellenwood will have her parents and all four grandparents in attendance.
鈥淭hat is why I think I am going to grow up a lot at Wisconsin,鈥� she said.
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While some athletes are groomed from a young age for success in a sport, Ellenwood found track and field through her older brother, Stuart, who is now a member of the SFU cross-country and track and field teams.
Youngest brother Dean is also involved in the sport, competing with the Mustangs and at the high school level.
The siblings鈥� parents, Dave and Kari, wanted to sign Stuart up and younger sister Georgia tagged along and took part too. She was hooked.
鈥淚 absolutely loved it; it was just a fun thing,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 had springs in my legs; I was bouncy (and) I just had natural talent.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know it of course, I was just running around the track.鈥�
She was 11 and a few years later, her coaches began training her harder and pushing her.
It was at this point, Ellenwood realized she would need to put the work in if she wanted to go places through the sport.
And the Legion experience 鈥� coupled with representing Canada 鈥� confirmed she was chasing the right dream.
鈥淭hat is when I I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life,鈥� she said.
Ellenwood still remembers the first time she saw her Canadian jersey.
鈥淚 looked at the stuff and saw I was going to be wearing Canada on my jersey instead of B.C. or 91原创,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淚t was just a whole other level.鈥�
And while she didn鈥檛 medal at any of her international events, just the fact Ellenwood was meeting like-minded individuals was something special.
鈥淭hey have so much pride in their country, it is inspiring,鈥� Ellenwood said.
鈥淏eing around people who share that same passion and goals and views as I do, is really cool.鈥�
And she hopes to inspire others.
鈥淚 have heard some girls say 鈥業 am Georgia鈥� as they jump into the long jump pit,鈥� she said with a smile, referring to the younger members of the Mustangs.
鈥淚 know they look up to me, which I take pride in.
鈥淭hey started out just like I was and it is cool to see them grow and learn and get better through the year.鈥�
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The road to where she is today has not been without its bumps.
Just at the start of this season, Ellenwood was questioning herself as she felt the competition was getting better while she remained stagnant.
鈥淚 felt like everything had stopped and I wasn鈥檛 getting better,鈥� she explained.
鈥淎nd that is what I am so afraid of, that I am going to just stop and not keep progressing anymore.鈥�
鈥淚 actually did one heptathlon where I didn鈥檛 get one PB (personal best) and that has never happened to me before,鈥� she added.
鈥淭hat is where patience comes in, you just have to work through it.鈥�
And she rebounded from that early season 'slump', winning , including .
She leaves high school as one of the most decorated B.C. athletes of all time, winning 10 gold and three silver medals in her four years.
