By : Anne Stairs

Xavier Lemaître, local talent, and son of Knowlton Academy physical education teacher Nicolas Lemaître, won gold in the 3000-metre Steeplechase event at last year’s Canada games in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Gold medal performance

Xavier, who studies Kinesiology at the University of Sherbrooke, leapt over 28 immovable hurdles and 7 water pits faster than anyone else last summer, securing a gold medal.

Strength in steeplechase

Xavier credits his cross country running skills with giving him the edge in Steeplechase. “Track running is very necessary for developing proper running mechanics but you’re basically competing against a clock; whereas Steeplechase is a race against other runners all charging around the course at the same time, requiring extra agility and quick thinking.”

This summer Xavier, sponsored by Salomon, is blazing a new trail. He’s adding trail running to his repertoire. He has a natural knack for weaving his way up and down mountains at speed.

Upcoming competition

When the Golden Trail World Tour, also sponsored by Salomon, announced that one of their 8 races would be at Mont St. Anne this summer, Xavier saw the writing on the wall. His training, for now, is focused on the 30km mega trail race on July 5.

Looking ahead

With any luck, we’ll have a world class athlete on our hands, which is a costly business, and the opportunity to support him as he makes his bid to go pro.

Bravo Xavier!