Raiya Matonovich is the fastest 13-year-old in North America at the 800m

Two weeks ago, 13-year-old Raiya Matonovich of Kamloops, B.C. ran 2:10.78 in the 800m, a mere 0.8 seconds off the U16 record that has stood for 26 years. That record was set in 1995 by none other than the current Canadian record-holder in the marathon, Malindi Elmore, which bodes well for the future success of this young track star.

According to Kamloops news outlet, CFJC Today, Matonovich has been running since she was five years old, when her mom would take her to Kenna Cartwright Park for runs. Ever since then, the young athlete says she’s been really enjoying it. Now a grade eight student at SaHali Secondary School, her coach, Sean Lehmann, believes Matonovich’s success is only beginning.

“Raiya’s just started running as a U16, so she’s still 13 years old, and she’s got plenty of time to break these records,” he said. Matonovich is also excited about her success, and she’s anxious to keep going to see what she can achieve.

“For sure, next time I’m aiming to get under 2:10 for 800,” she adds.

Lehmann says Matonovich’s time makes her the current fastest 13-year-old 800m runner in North America and the second-fastest in the world (the fastest time of 2:08.45 belongs to Ivy Boothroyd of Sydney, Australia). She is also the third-fastest in the world at the 1,500m.

The young runner looks up to Elmore, whose time she nearly beat, and hopes to one day run at Stanford, where Elmore set the school’s record in the 800m and the 1,500m and was a five-time All-American.

“For quite a few years now, I know this is something that I want to do when I grow older, just to run professionally,” she said. “So I feel like it’s really exciting for me. I want to see how far I go.”

Lehmann believes she’s got the chops to accomplish this, considering she’s running University-level times already. If Matonovich continues with this trajectory, in a few year’s time we may be seeing her not only competing at Stanford, but accomplishing her other dream — to compete at the Olympics, and, as she says, “hopefully to break some world records, for sure.”

posted Friday May 28th
by Brittany Hambleton