R
iley Flemington traces the
origins of his interest in running
back to the sixth grade. Success in his
elementary school meets inspired him
to join Oakville Legion Track Club.
In distinctly Canadian fashion, he
initially saw running as good offseason
training for hockey. The Oakville,
Ont. native soon discovered a key
dif ference between the two sports,
however: once on the track, he had
to be completely self-reliant. As soon
as the starting pistol went off, he was
alone, just he and his competitors. No
one to turn to, nowhere to hide.
He loved it.
“Unlike hockey where there’s a
whole team, track is just you and you’re
the only person to blame,” the 15-year-
old explains. “I just enjoy moving.
And I enjoy being by myself.” Before
long, the track overtook the ice rink as
Flemington’s preferred arena.
Over the next three years, he has
enjoyed a steady upward trajectory
in competitive running. In June,
Flemington capped Grade 9 at Appleby
College with a pair of sensational
performances at the ofsaa track and
field championships, turning in gold
medal runs in both the 800m and
1,500m events. In the 1,500m final,
Flemington ran a 4:06.56 – over 8.5
seconds ahead of the second-place
finisher. The next day in his preferred
event – the 800m – he recorded a
blazing 1:56.17.
Poring deep into the ofsaa record
books, the magnitude of Flemington’s
achievement begins to crystallize.
Dating back to 1960, there have been
only two recorded instances of a faster
time in the men’s midget 800m final
at ofsaa, including Kevin Sullivan’s
1989 record of 1:53.24. Sullivan, it
should be noted, went on to become a
three-time Olympian and fifth-place
finisher in the 1,500m final at Sydney
in 2000. Not bad company to keep.
Flemington cites two reasons for his
big breakthrough over the past year.
The first is experience, which he has
in spades after spending most of Grade
8 competing in the midget age group
against athletes a year older than him.
The second is great coaching, particu-
larly when it comes to the mental side
of competition. He credits club coach
Ted Neptune and McMaster University
coach Paula Schnurr, who has workedwith Flemington at Appleby College, as
major inf luences on his development.
“They always told me to run my
own race and focus on myself – on
what I need to do,” Flemington says.
“Before a race, visualization is really
important. Visualizing the race and
the outcome helps quite a bit.” And so
he does the same routine, including
breathing techniques, each time. He
does his best to emulate the condi-
tions of competition. He rarely – if
ever – listens to music during his pre-
race warm-up. Practising how he plays
means no soundtrack.
As Flemington’s reputation as a
runner continues to grow, hockey has
effectively become his off-season sport.
He isn’t ready to hang up his skates
quite yet. Noting the value in a diverse
approach to strength training, he
intends to play one more season with
the AA minor midget Oakville Rangers
before shifting his attention fully to the
track. There, the possibility of more acco-
lades and a running career beyond high
school awaits. “ There does come a point
where you should for sure specialize in
the sport you want to pursue,” he says,
thoughtfully weighing his response,
“ but I’m still pretty young.”Andrew Joe Potter lives in Toronto,
where he works as a basketball news
editor for theScore.Riley
Flemington
A rising talent’s focus
shifts from the hockey rink
to the trackAGE 15
HOMETOWN Oakville, Ontario
SCHOOL Appleby College
CLUB Oakville Legion Track Club
RECENT ACHIEVEMENT 2019 OFSAA
midget men’s 800m + 1,500m champion.By Andrew Joe PotterTOP Riley Flemington
running to gold in the
midget boys 1,500m
final at the 2019
OFSAA Ontario High
School Track and Field
Championships held at
Alumni Stadium at the
University of Guelph68 Canadian Running September & October 2019, Volume 12, Issue 6Mundo^ Sport^Imageshonour roll