Van Buskirk & teammates thrilled to compete at home at NACAC championships
TORONTO — Kate Van Buskirk turned down a chance to race the 5,000 metres at the 2015 Pan American Games in her hometown. Instead, she flew to Europe to chase the Olympic standard in the 1,500 metres and came up just short.
Passing up that opportunity is one of Van Buskirk’s biggest regrets, and so the 31-year-old from Toronto jumped at the chance to race in the NACAC Championships on Friday night at Varsity Stadium.
“I was seeing all the tweets and the photos of the medallists and the stands that were full in a sea of red and white (at the Toronto Pan Am Games),” Van Buskirk said. “You have to love the sport for the purity of the sport, but a close second to that is seeing a hometown crowd who’s out there to support you and your teammates.
“I feel like I missed out on something special and I wanted to make up for that.”