A third-year student at UBC, Ben Thorne became the first Canadian race walker to go under the 80-minute mark in the 20-kilometre event when he clocked in at one hour, 19 minutes and 57 seconds to win bronze at the World Outdoor Championships last August in China. His performance set a national record.听
Last week, 22-year-old, Kitimat-born Thorne earned two honours from Athletics Canada: the Dr. Fred Tees Memorial Trophy as the Canadian university athlete of the year and the Fred Begley Memorial Trophy as the year鈥檚 off-track athlete.
He expects to represent Canada at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
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What is your idea of perfect happiness? A full stomach and good entertainment.
Which living person do you most admire? Stephen Hawking.
What is your greatest extravagance? My photography equipment 鈥� camera and lenses.
Which living person do you most despise? I find it very hard to despise people without at least getting to know them. Barring that, a war criminal probably.
What is the quality you most like in a teammate? A sense of humour.
What is the quality you most like in a coach? Spare time.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? 鈥�I feel like.鈥� And, 鈥淚 hate
Which talent would you most like to have? Writing.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My shyness.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? My world championship bronze medal from last year.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? If I had to choose something realistic, a person who is very talented. If I got to choose anything I could imagine, a dragon.
What is your most marked characteristic? Probably skinniness.
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Who are your favorite writers? J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen King, Brandon Sanderson, Richard Feynman.
Who is your hero of fiction? Aragorn from The Lord of The Rings.
What are your favorite names? I'm not six years old, so I don't really have one. But I like mystical sounding names like Anastasia.
What is your favourite meal? Macaroni and cheese. I make it from scratch, and it's pretty extravagant.
How would you like to die? Painlessly.
What is your motto? I don't know anybody who has a personal motto.
What song is playing in your head right now? 鈥淐ake by the Ocean鈥� by DNCE.
What was the first sport you played as a child? Cross-country skiing.
What race would you relive again and again? Ones where I don't quite try hard enough and lose because of it. For example, the World University Games 2015.
What is your favourite weather condition for a race? Cold, clear and still.
What was the first live sports event you saw? Does the B.C. Winter Games count? I didn't get out much as a kid and I grew up in a small town.
What is your favourite live sports memory as a spectator? At the 2013 World Track and Field Championships, the men's high jump final. Derek Drouin won bronze with a Canadian record. The winner attempted the world record.
What is your favourite live sports memory as a participant? The 2015 World Track and Field Championships of course.
What is the most useful feedback a coach gave you? Keep your feet low!
What skill do you find hardest? Dancing. I am surprisingly bad at it for someone who spends hours every day shaking his hips. I just don't have much rhythm.
What did you want to be when you were growing up? A herpetologist, someone who studies reptiles and amphibians.
Who would play you in a movie of your life? Daniel Radcliffe, maybe?
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