Another medal for Raine Bradley but this one on the national stage.
The Chippewa Secondary School student captured silver on the weekend at the Legion Nationals Track and Field in Calgary by throwing a 54.10m personal best throw in the U16 discus competition.
"Placing second at nationals means so much to me," Bradley told BayToday via text.
Bradley captured gold in the U16 discus competition at the Ontario Summer Games in London the week before, where he threw a personal best of 51.65m good enough to capture the title.
However, the journey to the podium has been challenging for Bradley.
He struggled at the Legion Provincials in July which kept him off the Team Ontario roster for the Legion Nationals.
That meant Bradley had to win gold at the Ontario Summer Games to punch his ticket to Legion Nationals.
Bradley credits trainer and mental coach Cameron Branch for helping him get back on track.
"After that setback, I spent some time working with Cameron Branch on the mental side of sports which has helped me understand what it takes to become a successful athlete," explained Bradley.
"So finally being able to see all my hard work and dedication to the sport pay off means everything to me. From all the long practices with Brian Milne to all the competitions my Mom brought me to, getting the silver medal against the best throwers in Canada will be an experience I’ll never forget and an awesome end to the 2024 season.
"I’d also like to say a huge thanks to Greco’s Pizza and Pasta for helping support my travels to Calgary."
See related: Bradley lands gold at Ontario Summer Games in London
Back in the spring, Bradley won the 2024 Fergie Dowdall Trophy as the top athlete at the NDA Track and Field Championship in his first year and went on to break a long-standing NOSSA Novice discus record set by current Toronto Argonauts lineman and Algonquin alum Ryan Hunter when Bradley threw the disc 50.20 metres.
At OFSAA this June, he threw a personal best 51.22 meters on the province’s biggest stage to beat the nearest competitor by 5 meters at the OFSAA track and field championships in London. It was an impressive performance as four out of the six throws by Raine were far enough to win the gold medal.
