Kimberly Chen wins National Title
Kimberly Chen – Junior National Champion. PCC photo.
PCC athlete Kimberly Chen recently competed at the 2023 Junior Track Championships in Bromont, Quebec achieving five podium finishes, including winning two gold medals.
The first day saw her coming third in the Keirin, a position she was very happy with as she admits she typically doesn’t do well in Keirin’s. The next day saw her set her best time that resulted in placing first in the sprint and being crowned national champion.
“At the sprint event I had a chance to rematch Alex Volstad, whom I was in the gold medal match-up with last year when I came second. To be able to put our abilities to the test again as we have both improved significantly in terms of tactics and power was fun for us both. She is one of the only other girls my age in Canada that can sprint well, and we have similar strengths so it’s always exciting racing against her. I managed to take the win this year, and I’m sure we will have more rematches in the future,” Kimberly said.
The team sprint was on day three and along with teammates Alex Volstad and Anabelle Thomas, had a strong ride beating Team Ontario by 0.111 seconds and setting a new Canadian record. Kimberly finished off the championships with third place finishes in the 500 metre TT and the Madison.
Team Sprint Champions. PCC photo.
She was very pleased with her overall performance in the championships. “Although my track-specific preparation time was relatively short, my goals were to be within sprint world standard times in the flying 200 and 500 metre TT and have a shot at going to the selection camp for worlds. I also wanted to see what I could achieve in terms of tactical ability and skill among the field. This trip was also still very much about learning and gaining experience since I am a first-year Junior. I did not quite hit the goal times in the 200 or 500, but they were both learning opportunities and I now know exactly what to work on for next year when I am a second-year Junior.”
Houshang Amiri has been coaching Kimberly since January since she joined the Victoria Hub program. “Kimberly showed her racing and competitive ability during the championship, showing a lot of potential, and she has a great future ahead of her.”
