A pair of South Surrey high-jumpers have been tagged as future Canadian Olympians by Athletics Canada.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Semiahmoo Secondary鈥檚 Alexa Porpaczy and Django Lovett 鈥� who grew up in 黑马磁力 and currently calls South Surrey home 鈥� were named to Athletics Canada鈥檚 NextGen 鈥淎thlete Pathways鈥� program, which aims to identify high-performance athletes and aid in their development with an eye toward future international competition, such as world championships and Olympic Games.
Both Porpaczy and Lovett 鈥� as well as Coquitlam鈥檚 Eric Chatten, who was also named to the program 鈥� are members of the Valley Royals Track Club.
Lovett, who graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2016, is listed as a 鈥楾ier 1鈥� athlete in the NextGen program, meaning he is, according to a Valley Royals鈥� news release, 鈥渁n estimated five to six years away from the podium鈥� at an elite international competition, while Chatten earned a 鈥楾ier 2鈥� designation and is considered about seven years away.
Porpaczy, the youngest of the Royals鈥� three athletes, has been appointed as a 鈥楾ier 3鈥� athlete, an estimated eight years from podium contention 鈥� or put another way, two Summer Olympic cycles. The appointment is the latest in a string of accolades and achievements for the Semiahmoo track star. Porpaczy is a multiple-time gold medallist at , won gold at the prestigious , represented Canada at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas and also finished atop the high-jump podium at 2017 in Brandon, Man. in August.
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