Things are happening very quickly for Coquitlam's Nathan George. But that should come as no surprise, as speed is the name of the game for the provincial track sensation.
George won both the 200- and 400-metre events at last weekend's B.C. Track and Field Championships in Kamloops.
The double-gold performance for the Coquitlam Cheetah athlete follows on the heels of his silver-medal finish in the 400 m at the Canadian Junior Championships on July 15.
"I have one strategy for all my 400s: Go out pretty hard for the first hundred and then kind of pace slightly in the second stretch and then push around the bend and try and maintain for the finish. It's called the 4P strategy: Push, pace, position and pray," joked George, who also competes with the Trinity Western Spartans track team.
That strategy allowed George to set a personal best of 47.47 seconds at the national championships in Ste-Therese, Que. - a mark he eclipsed with a 47.17 showing in Kamloops.
In the men 18-19 200 m final in Kamloops, George finished in 21.53, edging out Cheetah teammates Chad Payne [21.98] and James Linde [22.00].
George started competing on the track at age 10, and credits the coaching he received with the Cheetahs and Trinity Western University for his development.
"I've always liked to run so my mom decided to bring me out to the track team and I enjoyed it a lot," said George.
His second-place performance at the national championships has earned him a spot on Team Canada for the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Medellin, Colombia Aug. 23-25.
"I'd like to make the final and hopefully run a personal best," said George, whose ultimate goal is to compete in the 2016 Olympics.
George wasn't the only Cheetah to roar last weekend in Kamloops.
Benjamin Ayesu-Attah also flashed his speed at the provincials. The Cheetah sprinter took first place in the men over-20 100 and 200 m, with Nicholas Ayin placing second in both events.
Phillip Rockerbie topped the men over-20 hurdles competition, winning both the 400 m and 110 m events. He finished fourth in the 100 m sprints. Hodson Harding finished third in the 400 m.
Esinam Ayesu-Attah won the women 18-19 200 m and finished third in the 100 m. Liza Whitehead finished second in the women over-20 100 m and third in the 200 m.
In the men 18-19 100 m, James Linde finished second and Chad Payne third. Raquel Tjernagel claimed second in the women 16-17 100 m, while Christine Lowe was third in the women over-20 400 m.
Anastasia Evans won the women 16-17 high jump, while Hana Tyndall took second in women 14 high jump.
