A 21-year-old New Westminster woman will be competing for Canada at this month’s World Athletic Championships.
Grace Fetherstonhaugh will compete in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the world championship in Eugene, Oregon. Heats will be held on Saturday, July 16 and the finals run on Wednesday, July 20.
In the event, competitors run 3,000 metres (about 1.9 miles) and clear four jumps and one water jump during each lap around the track – for a total of 28 barriers and seven water jumps.
Fetherstonhaugh is no stranger to Record readers, as the newspapers has covered her athletic accomplishments at Glenbrook Middle School and New Westminster Secondary School through the years. That included winning all three of her races (1,500-m and 3,000-m events, as well as a 1,500m steeplechase) in the Burnaby-New West district championships in her final year as a Hyack and collecting a gold medal for Team B.C. in the 3,000-m steeplechase at the Canada Summer Games in Manitoba.
After graduating from NWSS in 2018, Fetherstonhaugh, a member of the Royal City Track and Field Club, headed to Oregon State University on a track scholarship.
In June 2022, Fetherstonhaugh placed 10th at the NCAA championship meet, where she set a new personal record (9:37.56) in the 3,000-metre.
Later in the month, she placed third in the event at the Canadian nationals in Langley.
It was while Fetherstonhaugh was at home in New West that she got the call saying she would be competing in the world championships.
More to come.
