HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2014-09-17, Page 3Wednesday, September 17, 2014 • News Record 3
Local athlete shines at the Youth Olympic Games
Tara Ostner
The Clinton News Record
Among athletes 18 years old and
younger, Lexi Aitken from Clinton,
Ontario is the sixth best hurdler in the
world.
How do we know this? Because Aitken
proved it when she competed at the 2014
Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nan-
jing, China held from August 16 to 28.
The Youth Olympic Games are based
upon the Olympic Games and bring
together highly skilled, young athletes
aged 15 to 18 years old from all over the
globe. Only four athletes from Ontario
qualified for the games and 16 year-old
Aitken was one of them.
At the games, Aitken competed in the
women's 400 -meter hurdles and posted a
time of 1:00.27 which placed her in sixth
place. Gezelle Magerman of South Africa
won the gold medal with a time of 57.91,
Michaela Peskova of Slovakia won the sil-
ver medal with a time of 58.26, Anne
Sofie Fruerskov Kirkegaard of Denmark
won the bronze medal with a time of
58.60, Tereza Volkova of the Czech
Republic came in fourth with a time of
59.76 and Michelle Mueller of Switzer-
land came in fifth with a time of 59.86.
"It was an experience that I will never
be able to forget," says Aitken. Over 20,000
spectators attended the games making
the massive stadium where Aitken com-
peted full every day. "The atmosphere
was crazy," she says.
The games also included a Culture and
Education Programme (CEP) which
offered interactive activities, workshops,
team -building exercises as well as an
Olympic Village which provided accom-
modations for the athletes, restaurants
and souvenir shops. As Aitken says, "I
met people from all over the world." She
also noted how the Asian people were the
"best hosts!'
Performing so superbly at the 2014
Summer Youth Olympic Games will
surely open up many doors for Aitken
and, as she says, "reaching the next step
will be very exciting." Although she will be
young, Aitken plans on attending the tri-
als for the 2016 Olympic Games and is
especially hopeful for the 2020 Olympic
Games.
Aiken's phone is also usually ringing
off the hook regarding scholarships from
colleges and universities from across
North America. When asked what school
she would like to attend, she said that she
has her eyes on Michigan State Univer-
sity, The University of California, The Uni-
versity of Oldahoma, Texas Christian Uni-
versity and The University of Nebraska in
particular. While she has respect and
admiration for Canadian schools, Aitken
wants to compete in the NCAA making
American schools the preferred choice.
Aitken is a grade 12 student at St.
Anne's Catholic Secondary School in
Clinton and lives with her parents and
brother just north of town. She is excited
for her last year at St. Anne's, hopes to
play various sports and is especiallylook-
ing forward to playing tennis.
Tara Ostner, The Clinton News Record
Lexi Aitken from Clinton competing in the women's 400 -meter
hurdles at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing,
China last month.
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