University of Regina's Jonathan Podbielski seeking U Sports gold
11h ago
"I like being different and doing as much as I can and showing people what I am capable of."
Jonathan Podbielski walked away from the Canada West championships with triple gold.
Now, he’s hoping to finally reach the top of the podium at the U Sports national championships.
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The University of Regina track athlete won gold in the 1,000-, 1,500- and 3,000-metre races at the conference championship meet that was held in Regina last month. He also locked up Canada West Men’s Track Athlete of the Year honours.
“I went after the triple gold this year. Last year, we only had the double gold with the 1,500 and the 1,000, so this year I wanted to go one more step up here and go for the 3,000 as well,” the Campbell Collegiate product said.
He said he was less familiar with the 3,000-metre race, but decided to take it on this time around. It turned out the 3,000-metre final was held just hours after the 1,000-metre race.
“It wasn’t easy, but I stuck with the leaders and held on right until the end and kicked in the last 100 metres of the race,” Podbielski said.
“Not particularly common (to do races back-to-back). It’s more my stupidity, I guess you would call it, to go after a bunch of things at once. I like being different and doing as much as I can and showing people what I am capable of. That’s what I like about this sport.”
He said one of the biggest issues with races that close together is how quickly he needed to go from cooling down to warming up for the next one.
“You still kind of feel the previous race in your legs going into the next one,” Podbielski said.
“Early in the race, you’re kind of thinking about ‘Oh, am I going to make it through this race?’ or ‘Am I going to do well in this race?’ and you can definitely feel the other race in your legs. Mentally, you just have to stay strong and push through it and trust the training and know you are capable of doing that.”
Now heading back to the U Sports championships, Podbielski will look to improve on his showing from last season. The national University track and field championships take place from Thursday to Saturday in Windsor, Ont.
University of Regina track athlete Jonathan Podbielski won three gold medals at the Canada West championships in Regina. (Jonathan Podbielski/Submitted)
Last time around, Podbielski finished second in the 1,000-metre race and third in the 1,500-metre race. He was also on the men’s 4×800-metre relay team, which finished second.
“It definitely is a step up and gave me a lot of experience. It also gave me a lot of drive and motivation after failing to win any of the events there. Coming second and third is a little bittersweet, because it’s still a great accomplishment but you’re always looking for that gold and looking for that win. That’s the goal for this year,” Podbielski said.
“I do honestly believe I am capable of reaching the top of the podium this year. It’s just a matter of execution and believing in myself.”
While he is focused on the university championship, there is another goal he has his mind set on – making the Canadian national track and field team.
“I had the opportunity to race in the Olympic trials final in the 1,500-metre, but I am still itching for that Canadian national team showing. I’ve missed a couple of teams, one by just eight hundredths of a second. Aiming for that this year and going for that goal,” Podbielski said.
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His ultimate goal is to one day wear the maple leaf at the Olympic games.
“The main thing is believing in myself and understanding it’s going to take a lot of training and it’s not going to happen overnight. It’s a process that takes years, but one day – if I keep training the way I do every day and getting out of bed and loving running and training – one day I’ll make it to the Olympic stage,” Podbielski said.
So while Podbielski has already had a successful university track career by his third season of eligibility, including a number of records under his belt, he’s only focusing on the future. He said he’s motivated by a comment from quarterback Tom Brady, who said “Your greatest win is your next one.”
“I’m always focused on the next win and the next thing,” he said.
“I don’t get too fixated on what’s happened in the past because it’s always about what’s coming next. I do enjoy looking back on the accomplishments and I definitely love this sport. I do watch races back over and smile while watching them but the next greatest win is the next one.”