
On a snowy and wind-swept golf course in London, Ont. on Nov. 30, 2024, a group of athletes belonging to Leaside’s local running club, Central Toronto Athletic Club (CTAC), won the team gold medal for girls under 18 at the Canadian Cross Country Championships.
The team of six comprises Kieva Birmingham, Isabel Pound, Rebecca Pribaz, Niamh Richards, Morgan Yeomans and Madeleine Zwolinski.
Founded in 2013, CTAC specializes exclusively in distance running, targeting athletes from Grade 3 to post-secondary. Members live in Leaside, Lawrence Park, North Toronto, the Beaches and North York.
Head coach Dave Christiani (full disclosure: he is also my husband) had an inkling of future medal success two years ago when an exceptional group of girls moved up to the high school group from the younger development group. In fact, Kieva, Rebecca and Morgan are now all highly ranked nationally and provincially over 800 to 3,000 metre distances because of their performances in several races. Dave points out that it is “not common to have so many highly ranked athletes in one group, so he and his team of coaches had hopes for a podium finish at the Nationals.
When cross-country training started in Sunnybrook Park in August, all the girls agreed that the podium was a realistic and attainable goal they were determined to achieve. With that in mind, they did all their critical workouts together, eager to help each other to achieve success. The training was not easy, so having mutual support and a common purpose kept them going.
As Kieva comments, “while a podium finish seemed so far away at the start of the season, the continuous effort from all of my teammates made our dream come true.’’
The results of their training were evident at the high school championships (OFSAA) in early November when, despite coping with illnesses, three of the girls finished in the top 10 of their respective races including an individual silver medal.
Then at the start of the Nationals, Dave reminded the girls to run their best possible race and “to trust their talent and preparation.” Morgan says that it was an “amazing feeling” for them to all be together on the start line. As a senior and a team captain, she says it was rewarding to support the others through a “really gritty race” and concludes that “we couldn’t have accomplished such an amazing feat without each other or the help of our coaches all season long.” It is worth noting that Morgan will be attending the University of Missouri next year on an athletic scholarship.
In the end, the CTAC team triumphed, and as Rebecca says, they were proud to have accomplished their goal, plus “it was exciting running alongside my amazing teammates and a great way to end the season.”
Isabel feels the same way about the race itself and sharing the moment of receiving their medals on the stage with her teammates, a feeling she says she will “carry with her forever.” She and her mother, Maria Wilson, also recognize the value of the CTAC experience in inspiring confidence, determination and resilience, adding that the “incredible achievement is a testament…to the valuable lessons learned along the way.”
The team, says Dave, is full of confidence from their accomplishment – a feeling they will carry with them into their indoor track season. For four of the members, the highlight of the season will be the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York at the historic Armory Track in mid-March.