The young girl started out running on a dirt track at school, complete with gopher holes that needed to be patched up every few weeks. With tenacity and perseverance, Borden cultivated an athlete who is currently holding the 400-meter hurdles record for Canada: Savannah Sutherland.
Regarding the NCAA Track and Field Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, last week, she remarked, “It feels great.”
Although she broke the record in her preliminary round with a time of 54.04, she really elevated her performance in the final, breaking the previous mark of 54.32.
“Last year at the same meet, I kind of set the record in my sights. I knew it was doable and something I could aim for in the coming years.” Regarding the 53.26 time, she remarked, “I’m incredibly happy that we were able to make it happen and make it work at last.
Running at the age of twelve, Savannah remarked that when she started competing nationally approximately two years ago, it was a difficult changeover time.
When it came to her first year at the University of Michigan, she remarked, “I didn’t really see the results that I wanted, which was difficult.”
“It was a little challenging to get over the fact that I wasn’t running as fast as I was in high school.”
Upon acclimating to her new surroundings and receiving assistance from Michigan’s assistant track and field coach Steven Rajewsky, she concluded her sophomore campaign with an NCAA Championship victory.
“That was really, really exciting and a huge breakthrough for me.”
Despite finishing in second place this year, Savannah, who is presently rated fourth in the world, is pleased with her faster run than last year.
A born runner
One of Sutherland’s assistant coaches is Jason Reindl, head coach of the University of Saskatchewan’s track and field and cross-country teams.
He remarked, “I’ve been supporting Sav for about four years, and all I try to do is have a little bit of consistency whenever she comes home for Christmas and the summer, and help her carry out Coach Steve’s plans as he lays them out.”
According to Reindl, witnessing the development of the recently named Big 10 Track and Field Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row is “a testament to her growth and maturity as a young adult.”
“A significant portion of Savannah’s success may be attributed to the mindset she adopted on a daily basis. Regarding her nearly ten-year career, he continued, “She’s always been extremely talented in terms of the results that she’s displayed, the results, the medals, the awards, and the accolades.”
“A talented athlete’s potential really has no bounds when they receive the right support, maintain consistency, and maintain a healthy balance across a wide range of activities.”
Savannah’s mother, Sonia Sutherland, described it as “exhilarating” to see her daughter beat the Canadian record twice in a single weekend. She said that while she and her husband Scott were there, he had a sense that something noteworthy was about to occur.
Sonia remarked, “She was just really anxious that evening.”
“She’s usually pretty cool, calm, and in the zone. We usually don’t see her before her finals, so we just let her do her thing.”
Scott believed it was an error, according to Sonia, when their daughter broke the record.
Breaking records
“I said, ‘No, that’s what she ran,'” she explained of their teary reaction.
“It was great.”
Savannah stated that getting to that point was a difficult process because she had limited resources to compete seriously in her sport of choice.
“Almost every high school in the (United States) has a track, whereas there’s only a few in Saskatchewan and I had to drive about 45 minutes to get to the nearest track to practice while I was at home,” she explained.
“You know, maybe I didn’t have the finest circumstances for developing track and field skill, but the fact that I was able to make it work and that I had such a supportive family, as well as the community, helped me fulfill my aspirations. It means a lot to me to have reached this level.”
Reindl described her run as “extremely remarkable.”
“When we break it down and can say, ‘In the entire history of Canadian track and field, no female has ever run faster than her,'” he stated.
“That in itself is a statement that you know, when we think about Savannah’s upbringing and representing and I say proudly representing Borden and all of our communities in province,” he continued.
“The best of the best, not someone from Toronto, not someone from Vancouver and all those kind of statements, which is a very Saskatchewan point of pride, but it doesn’t happen lightly.”
J’aime Paris
The journey to the Paris Olympics this summer has begun, but first she must participate in the Canadian Track and Field Championships. Savannah attributed much of her early experience as an active participant in all disciplines, particularly dance training, to her development of strength and awareness.
“You meet a lot of people in track who have either danced in the past or either have done gymnastics or cheer or some sort of…more rhythm sport,” she continued.
“I think it really helped with my body awareness especially, which is very helpful for the hurdles and also just knowing my body.”
As she prepares for the next challenge, the official Canadian Olympic team will be announced following the nationals, she is also considering a career in medicine, specifically oncology.
“I’ve had quite a few family members who have had cancer,” the pre-med student explained.
“I’ve seen what it can do to families and how difficult it can be for people and so, the fact that I already have first-hand experience with that, I just really would love to do everything that I can to help other families that are going through the same thing.”
Meanwhile, the track star’s mother, Sonia, said her independent daughter has been jet setting around the world for meets for years, and while she is excited about the prospect of Paris – it would be her 20-year-old’s debut – she is thinking of it as just another event to avoid being overwhelmed by the magnitude of it.
The finish line
Instead, she and her spouse have a single aim in mind, as is customary.
“Normally she always looks up to find us when she crosses, that’s just a thing she’s done since she started track,” she explained.
“She always looks up and that’s usually where we always are, is just around the finish line, so we can see the times when she crosses.”
Savannah feels humiliated as she steps out onto a division 1 track in a stadium packed with people, remembering her early days when a chalk line marked the soil for the runners’ start and finish.
“I’m just so, so grateful that I was able to get here and be able to compete at such high levels.”
