CARLYLE - Dane Peterson, a 16-year-old athlete from Carlyle, has recently competed at the Royal Canadian Legion National Track and Field Championships in Calgary from Aug. 9-11, competing in the shot put.
This prestigious competition is known for bringing together some of the country’s most promising athletes.
Peterson’s journey to the national stage began several years ago when he first discovered his passion for the shot put.
Born in North Dakota, he moved to Carlyle at the age of 11 with his mom Shawn and his younger sister Rylie.
Attending the Gordon F. Kells High School, Peterson has always enjoyed track and field and focused on the shot put, but also loved the discus and the javelin.
With a combination of natural talent and rigorous training, Peterson has steadily improved his technique and strength, making a name for himself at local, regional and provincial meets.
For the past two months he has trained faithfully by working at his technique four to five days a week, with the help of his coach Shelley Sargent.
He attended the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Lloydminster, where he took home a bronze medal.
Peterson said strength has something to do with it but technique is most important.
In early July Peterson attended a Royal Canadian Legion track and field camp in Regina. At these tryouts, only the top athletes moved onto nationals.
Peterson tried all the track and field events, but it was his shot put that took him to the nationals. He threw an impressive 14.04 metres, which is his personal best.
At the end of the camp in Regina, everyone gathered to find out who was going to move on and in what disciplines, and Peterson knew he was going for his shot put throw.
He was the only one in his school district that moved on, and he was excited for the new challenge.
Attending nationals alone, he said it was an amazing experience, and since he did not know anyone that attended, this was an opportunity for him to meet new people and make new friends.
The competition had people from all 10 provinces. Peterson said it was so interesting to meet people from across Canada and see how different each province is.
“I am just from a small Saskatchewan town,” said Peterson. “It was interesting to find out things about Vancouver and Toronto, and how different it is.”
Peterson competed against 22 other athletes in the U18 shot put division. He threw 13.27 metres with a five-kilogram ball, finishing 12th.
Now that he's home again, he is back to work full time at Element Technical Services, as he does not like to sit around.
In the winter he plays hockey for the Carlyle Cougars and badminton.
Peterson will continue to practise his technique so he can improve for next season's competitions.
