Thousands of track and field fans descended upon Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium on June 28 for the Harry Jerome Classic, lured by the star power of Canadian Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse.
But the real story from that meet may have hit a little closer to home.
It’s likely few in the packed grandstand or along the rails around the running track that warm summer night were there to see Coquitlam’s own James Linde. But when the 23-year-old sprinter leaned over the finish line of the Jerome’s feature 100m event in second place right behind De Grasse, his smile pierced the glow of the lights around the stadium.
Linde had just graduated from Trinity Western University, where he’d helped the school’s track and field team achieve success at meets like the Canada West indoor championships. But with his academic career at an end, and student debt beckoning for repayment, he was at a bit of a crossroads whether to put his athletic aspirations aside and get on with life.
Linde’s result at the Jerome meet changed that.
Less than two months later, Linde won a silver medal in the 200m at the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan.
That finish, he said, has fueled his hunger for more.
“I feel it really gave me a taste for the international scene,” Linde said. “I relfect now and feel there is quite a bit more I can do to push a bit further and improve as an athlete.”
Liberated from the books and now receiving funding from Athletics Canada has allowed Linde to dedicate himself to training full time with his coach at the Coquitlam Cheetahs track club, former Canadian Olympian Tara Self
.Linde said he’s looking ahead to the next year to build off his results from 2017.
“I do feel a definite increase in enthusiasm going forward,” he said. “I am no longer thinking in limits like I used to.”
