5 Races 2 Days! Canada West Track and Field Championship Recap

Hello all!

    Unfortunately this weekend I didn't have enough down time to keep you informed on my happenings, but HERE WE GO! First and foremost I'd like to thank everyone who is actually reading this, it is very comforting to know people care :)! 

5 RACES 2 Days

Friday February 21st 2014(Oh my as if it's 2014...) was day one of competition for me featuring the 60 meter high hurdles, 42inches to be exact or 1.07 meters. I was extremely nervous to say the least; especially because I'm coming off an achilles tendinitis injury. My injury was on my left achilles which is my take off leg, meaning its the leg I plant with going into the hurdles(for you non-hurdlers). Due to my injury I have not been able to do much training especially over the hurdles, in fact Friday was the first day in over a month and half that I had gone over hurdles. Thank GOD though, I made it through the heats ranked 5th going into the finals. In the finals I was given lane 8 the outside lane, which is usually unwanted in a sprint event because you can't see your competitors. In a hurdles race though, because there is so much going on it is sometimes (Crashes, Falls, Hurdle Chunks Flying Everywhere, and Babies Crying...) better to just run your own race. I finished third in the finals, ecstatic with my team mates signalling third with their fingers. TURN UP!!!! I had figured out the results system, whereby a volunteer would take the heat sheets to a long string with a clip, which would then be pulled up by the results crew and then posted online and on the results wall. I decided to intercept the volunteer to confirm I had come third! As I approached her(I actually frightened her unintentionally) I saw that I had been DQ'd... I immediately found my head coach Claude Berube and my personal coach Rory McIntyre, told them I had been DQ'd. They told me to calm down and wait for the results to be posted... Results  were posted and sure enough beside my name was a big "DQ." I had been charged with intentionally kicking over the first two hurdles... Anyone who has seen me hurdle knows I am not the cleanest over-top, but my coaches immediately told me to go find video footage of the race. My training partner and I Eric Guy went on a mission fortunately a friend from Calgary named Kwaku had actually filmed my race from the start line, he sent me the video, Claude wrote and appeal, and I GOT MY MEDAL! Great team work! The Bisons had a great day 1, with 5 other medals! Everyone definitely had the winning mindset.

Saturday February 22nd 2014

    Saturday was a disappointing day, with two 4th place finishes in the 60 meter sprint and the 4*200 meter relay. I ran a seasonal best in both the heats and the finals of the 60 meter, but it wasn't quite good enough :(. There is a great deal of improvement necessary in preparation for CIS National Championships, being held once again in Edmonton in just under 2 weeks. I will hopefully be competing in both the 60 meter and 4*200 meter relay! Technically I have 4-6 races left in my season, including our provincial championships Boeing Classic hosted by my club Winnipeg Optimist. I am hungry for success and although my injury put me at a disadvantage, I am only getting faster with each race! The 4*200 meter relay was a huge confidence booster for  me, even though we finished 4th. Saturday was the first day since my initial injury that I have been able to run past 80 meters! I split one of, if not the fastest leg on my team; out of starting blocks and ran smooth with a great hand-off to my team-mate Matthew Fitcowsky (Silver in the 300meter). After the races I let out a sigh of relief, I had completed 5 races in 2 days with minimum pain. THANK YOU LORD!

    

    Following the meet we started preparing for the awards banquet, I got my friend Leah Walkeden to drive me to the hotel where we were staying because I was tired and did not want to walk two blocks... Awards banquet is  definitely one of my favorite parts about Track&Field, Why? Well its like seeing a Pokemon evolve... All weekend everyone's in competition gear definitely not looking their prime...( Well some do) and then BAM! all these pretty girls in dresses, heals, hair done, bathed, and did I mention looking pretty? :).

    Well I am back home doing assignments, reading, and working on papers trying to stay ahead and play a little bit of catch up with my school work!

I LOVE WHAT I DO!

Special thank you to the Bison T&F coaching staff especially my coach Rory McIntyre!

WSKJr.

Social Media- Thoughts

    Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram the BIG 3, we just landed in Edmonton Alberta in preparation for the Canada West Track&Field Championship. As soon as the seat belt lights go off in the cabin of the plane, everyone instantly pulls out their cellular devices. I pulled my phone out hoping for a like, mention, and or retweet. I know... I'm lame, but I know for a fact I was not the only one doing the same thing.

Social media has become reality, a once simple and somewhat blank page; with a baby blue header that was a way to virtually connect with others has evolved. It started with the introduction of the like button, prior to that all we could do is poke the Sh*t out of one another. The "like" has evolved into a way to shun, show love, show interest, acknowledge a sub-post. What is a sub-post? It is when you post something negative or positive about a person group, thing, and or anything without directly revealing who or what you are speaking about. It may seem harmless at first but by posting for the world to see you invite everyone's imagination to wonder. Celebrities on Twitter may sub-tweet their rivals, a network, and or others. Believe it or not though it is not the celebrities that have the most interesting drama, it's your friends, crush, hater, and siblings. As soon as you see a post via Twitter, Instagram, and or Facebook you immediately search for your pipe, trench coat, top hat, and look for Watson. 

OMG OMG THIS GUY TAKING A NAP IN THE AIRPORT JUST RELEASED THE LOUDEST FARTS(I am ashamed to say Amy and I laughed like little 5year olds BUT IT WAS SO LOUD)

Anyways back to the topic at hand; prior to social media confrontation was dealt with via text, phone, mail, and the oh so forgotten IN PERSON. These were all rich channels of communication compared to social media because at least they are direct. Why I say social media is reality or has merged into reality is because the conversation or problems do not end on the screen. Bullying has even more bystanders and your "one true love" is not quite her Instagram photo's in person(Those filters tho...Deceit). Apart from the personal changes in interactions and relationships. Social media has been a tool for those without a voice, find strength in numbers. The greatest example of this was Egypt overthrowing of their corrupt government, Twitter was heavily praised by Egyptians and others across the world for giving the people a voice.

Anyways I'm getting tired... My point to this installment is we all live in an age whereby we have the power to affect the masses negatively or hopefully positively under 140 characters, a click, a double tap, or a simple friend request.

WSKJr.

Who am I

    To whom it may concern, I mean to whomever reads this, I mean... Hello! My name is Wilfred Sam-King Jr. or the second; just kidding. My name is just Wilfred Sam-King Jr. I know what a professional sounding name. I'm taking a crack at this blogging thing, Why? I don't know exactly yet, but i thought it would be a cool idea. I am a 21 year old Sierra Leonian-Canadian  living in the North Pole city of Winnipeg. I was born in Sierra Leone; a small West African country, torn apart by civil war and blood diamonds (Yes the movie Leonardo DiCaprio stared in). I'm a student athlete at the University of Manitoba, majoring in International business and Marketing while competing in Track&Field otherwise known as Athletics everywhere else in the world apart from North America.

    Okay, (Large Exhale) about myself. I'm currently on a plane headed to Edmonton Alberta Canada to compete in our Track&Field Conference Championship sitting beside this weirdo named Amy Graceffo, a sweet but extremely plane phobic friend of mine. She has the brightest blue eyes ever, by the way I LOVE EYES! I'm an eye man... whatever that means, you're thinking.

ME in 10 lines:

1.5'11 1/2 I say I'm 6ft... My friends call me out. (I was 5'3 until grade 9)

2.I like taking off my shirt, whenever the opportunity arises.... My friends call me out
3.I love eyes
4. I'm almost always smiling, but not as much as my friend and team mate Smiles
5. I have many friends, but very few close friends
6. I like girls ;) I'm a flirt. (Whether they like me, is still very debatable)
7.I have one older sister, shes 26. We do not look alike
8. I think biracial babies are the most beautiful babies, all babies are beautiful
9.I want to work for the UN in the future
10. My favorite feature is my smile, mainly because thats what I get the most compliments on