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South Surrey high-jumper strikes gold – again – at Canadian championships

Semiahmoo Secondary grad Alexa Porpaczy wins sixth career national gold medal
Nick Greenizan
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Alexa Porpaczy, with the University of Arizona, clears the bar during Pac-12 Track and Field Championships earlier this year. (Contributed photo)

Alexa Porpaczy’s streak of Canadian high-jump titles remains unblemished, after another podium-topping performance at Canadian Track and Field Championships, which were held last week in Montreal.

The Semiahmoo Secondary grad – who now attends the University of Arizona on an athletic scholarship – captured top spot in the women’s under-20 competition after clearing the bar at 1.74 m, which was three centimetres higher than silver medallist Trinity Hansma, also of B.C.

Hansma failed in three attempts to clear the bar at 1.74 m, while Porpaczy’s final turn saw her fail to clear the bar at 1.79 m.

The gold medal was the sixth Canadian high-jump title of Porpaczy’s young career. At nationals last summer in Ottawa, Porpaczy – who was a multiple-time champion at B.C. High School Championships during her time at Semiahmoo – won gold at the U20 level, also clearing the bar at 1.74 m.

She was the top jumper two years ago, also in the U20 division, and she also has three Canadian championship gold medals to her credit, all from the event’s U18 age division. Next year, Porpaczy will move up to the senior level of competition.

Porpaczy’s gold medal comes just a week after returning from Pan American U20 Championships in Costa Rica, where she finished in a tie for fourth place – but came within a hair of finishing on the podium At the July 20 event, Porpaczy – as well as fellow fourth-place finisher Janique Burgher of Jamaica – finished at 1.78 m, which was the same height as bronze-medallist Shelby Tyler of the United States. The tie was broken, and Tyler named the winner, because the U.S. competitor cleared the previous 1.75 height in the fewest attempts; all three were one-for-three clearing the bar at the 1.78-m level.

For Porpaczy, the 1.78-m mark tied her collegiate personal best jump, according to the University of Arizona’s track-and-field program.

Last spring, the freshman also won bronze in the high jump at Pac-12 Track and Field Championships.


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