Past: 麻豆传媒映画College Fighting Irish and 麻豆传媒映画Olympic Club
Present: O鈥橦agan Field
Future: Undecided
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Decathlete Jasper Schiedel doesn鈥檛 know where he鈥檒l be for the first semester of his university track career, but a decade ago he had a perfectly clear idea where he was going and who he wanted to compete for 鈥� and he more than realized it.
Still in elementary school, he watched as the Fighting Irish football team walked from 麻豆传媒映画College to a public park for practice. Dressed in their pads and carrying bright, metallic helmets, Schiedel had a glimmer in his eye and was instantly hooked.
鈥淚 saw the gold helmets and knew I wanted to be a part of that,鈥� he said this week about his decision to attend the all-boys school for five years of high school.
As a varsity football player dressed in purple and gold, Schiedel rushed for more than 700 yards and scored eight touchdowns despite an untimely ankle injury. Now it鈥檚 his time to turn heads, which the running back did on the gridiron and as a decathlete in a difficult sport that takes high levels of dedication and expertise.
At the B.C. high school championships earlier this month, Schiedel defended his gold medal in the decathlon and also collected three individual medals: a gold in the senior boys 400m hurdles, which he claimed in a record-setting 55.99 seconds, and silver medals in the 110m hurdles and pole vault.
Modest through to the roots of his thick, uncombed hair, Schiedel downplays his successes and potential. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know that much about track, not as much as other people who do decathlon my age,鈥� he said.
But for the second consecutive year in his age group, Schiedel is the top-ranked decathlete in Canada. His current point tally of 6,091, recorded at the B.C. championship multi-event meet in Surrey, puts him sixth out of all Canadian decathletes, who are led by Olympian Damian Warner with a season high of 8,523.
In 2015, Schiedel set the national youth benchmark of 6,526 points the first year the sport opened to U18 athletes and he met the IAAF international standard, which meant he traded in his school and club uniforms for one with a maple leaf and represented Canada at the world youth championships in Cali, Colombia. On the world stage, he cracked the top 20.
Nonetheless, Schiedel expected more of himself. He follows a self-guided training schedule and aims to raise his point tally. With a roster of coaches behind him, including 麻豆传媒映画College鈥檚 Herb Sommerfeld and event-specific coaches in Richmond and Langley, the 18 year old races for the 麻豆传媒映画Olympic Club and oversees much of his own development. 鈥淚 was really hopping I would improve a lot this year,鈥� he said, his voice betraying disappointment that his best score came last season.
Ahead of him this summer lies the National Youth Championships in Edmonton. Schiedel is training for that meet with a glint in his eye. What comes next is unwritten and may yet be golden.
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