While Madison Gordon's high school track and field career at R.E. Mountain Secondary School has come to an end, the recent graduate is looking forward to taking her talents to U SPORTS, where she will be competing for the University of Alberta.
I caught up with Gordon about how she got her start in athletics, her path to UofA and how she hopes to close out the 2023 season.
Personal Bests
Long Jump: 5.54m
High Jump: 1.65m
Heptathlon: 4311 points
Career Accolades
2023 BC Athletics Jamboree Heptathlon Champion
2023 BC High School Long Jump Champion
2023 BC High School Heptathlon Silver
2022 U18 Legion National Heptathlon Champion
2022 BC High School Heptathlon Champion
Gordon has been involved in track and field since she was in elementary school.
"I fell in love with track the moment I started. In Grade 5 I joined the Langley Mustangs Track Club and I never looked back."
This love for track and field only grew as Gordon continued training and competing throughout her high school years.
"High school track and field has definitely been a huge part of my athletics journey. Going to a variety of different meets and being surrounded by so many different athletes has been a big part of who I am today."
Gordon had a standout season last year, when she won both the BC High School Senior Heptathlon as a Grade 11 athlete, in addition to becoming the 2022 U18 Legion National Heptathlon Champion. While in Sherbrooke, she scored a total of 4398 points in the Girls Heptathlon, 423 points ahead of her closest competitor. En route to her gold medal she won the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.34, the high jump with a mark of 1.57m and the long jump with a mark of 5.16m.
"I loved being on Team BC and going to Legion Nationals last summer. I also love traveling to meets with my club team."
The 2023 season has been no different for Gordon as she has excelled and continued to improve upon her personal bests. She won the long jump at the BC High School Track and Field Championships, was second in the heptathlon and came out victorious in the heptathlon at BC Athletics Jamboree. With one last meet on her radar, the Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships, Gordon is looking to do something special.
"For the 2023 season my goal was to jump 5.50m in the long jump and 1.63m in the high jump, which I have accomplished. All that is left is that I want to get a combined score of 4600 points in the heptathlon at nationals."
The U20 Women's Heptathlon kicks off Thursday morning with the 100m hurdles and with that Gordon's journey to 4600 points will begin. Nevertheless once the championship comes to a close Gordon will have her sights set on moving to Alberta.
"It has been a dream of mine from a very young age to compete collegiately. In fact the past four years of high school I have focused on what steps I need to take in order to compete at the university level. UofA was the last school I went on a visit to and ever since that it just stuck. The coaching team is very supportive and the athletes all work really hard. I think it is a place where I can improve as an athlete and become well rounded."
With that Gordon leaves us with a few final words: "I would tell my younger self that discipline is the key and to just be patient and trust your training because everything will come together."