2023-07-27 23:30:00
Juliane Thériault has been competing in running for only a year, but that didn’t stop the teenager from knocking down a 26-year-old mark at the Quebec Games in the final days.
A record over 800 meters which also belonged to an Olympian, the late Émilie Mondor, who later participated in the Athens Games in 2004.
“I had given myself the challenge for a while to set a new record, says the 15-year-old young woman, still a little surprised four days after her successful feat on Sunday in Rimouski. But I never expected to succeed. Especially since I beat him by almost a second!”
Photo provided by the Eastern Quebec delegation
When she set herself this ambitious goal, Juliane Thériault did not know that the one who previously owned the brand had taken part in the Olympics. Mondor, who died in an accident two years after the Games, finished 17th in Greece in the 5,000m.
Emilie Mondor Photo courtesy
“When the race was over, I remember my coach saying to me, ‘Do you realize you have the record?’ I told him no. But there, I begin to understand that what I have done is an achievement and I am really proud of myself, ”she says.
Photo provided by the Eastern Quebec delegation
Three medals in as many races
Originally from Matane, the representative of Est-du-Québec did two laps of the Rimouski track – where she trains – in 2 min 12.57 s. She passed her closest pursuer, Alexane Hunte, from the South Shore, by more than four seconds at the finish line.
For comparison, the best time in competition for Olympian Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, who holds the Canadian record for the distance (set in 2017, at age 29), is 1 min 57.01 s.
In Rimouski, Juliane did not stop there. She also won gold in the 1500m and finished on the third step of the podium with her teammates in the 4 x 400m relay.
She would like to run all the time
Of course, the young runner already liked to put on her sneakers before starting to compete. She practiced athletics and was then noticed by the Coubertin Club last year.
“Everything has tumbled since then,” she points out.
Juliane now trains six to seven days a week, she who also swims and bikes, to develop other muscles that are less targeted by running.
“But I’m holding back, because I love running so much I would train all the time! launches the teenager. […] What I like is always trying to go beyond my limits.”
And the Olympic Games, the supreme test in which Émilie Mondor had participated, are they in the sights of the young woman?
“It’s certain. It’s every athlete’s dream! But I know there’s a long way to go [pour y arriver], she reflected. So it’s one of my dreams, but one step at a time.”
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