Fort Erie runner quickly making a name for himself
Posted By Matt Day
Posted 2 days ago
Not to say Jeremy Rae wasn’t popular within the halls of
Lakeshore Catholic High School before, but distinguishing himself as one of the
fastest high school students in North America has definitely bolstered his
legacy.
Thanks to an incredible performance in the 1,500m race at the Ontario
Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA), the Fort Erie resident is
well on his way to making a name of himself in the track world.
At 18-years-old, Rae holds the second best time in OFSAA history in the
1,500m, leaving the rest of the field behind after running a three minute, 45
second race.
Because of his strong performances this year, the doors have just begun to
open for the humble athlete.
He plans on attending the University of Notre Dame after being offered a
scholarship there, turning down many other prestigious schools in the process.
But his biggest accomplishment to date, he said, is when he was invited to
take part in last week’s Festival of Excellence track meet at the University of
Toronto’s Varsity Stadium; an event which garnered international attention with
the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, racing the 100m.
“Here I am, a high school kid competing against pro athletes and olympians
sponsored by Nike, Adidas and Reebok. It was an amazing experience.”
He got the call to take part in the one mile-race after showing scouts what
he could do at the OFSAA championships. Even though he said he is used to
running 1,500m races, he wasn’t going to back down from the mile and his goal of
breaking four minutes.
To say he was an underdog was an understatement, but Rae held his own and ran
a four minute, 6.44 second race, even beating a pro.
“I was disappointed in my time but at least I didn’t finish last,” laughed
Rae. “The most valuable thing I’m taking away from the experience is actually
talking to the other runners. They gave me lots of advice about training and
schooling so that was really neat.”
When asked about any Olympic aspirations, he quickly admitted it would be a
dream but he is taking things one step at a time.
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“It’s not a main goal for me because I realize chances are
extremely slim... if my career had to end today I would still be happy because
of all that I’ve accomplished.”
In a football crazy school, Rae has made a name of himself and shares male
athelete of the year honours with the school’s kicker.
Rae’s next big test comes next month when he will race in the junior national
championships in Prince Edward Island.