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Jessica Frotten captures 4 medals at Canadian Track and Field Championships

‘I’ve had such amazing support system, that’s number one’
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Jessica Frotten, a para wheelchair racer from Whitehorse, won gold in the the 5,000-, 800- and 400-metre races at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa July 3-8. (Claus Andersen/Athletics Canada)

Jessica Frotten is back full force after crashing in the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April.

The wheelchair racer from Whitehorse won gold in the the 5,000-, 800- and 400-metre races at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, beating the runners-up by 2 minutes and 4 seconds, under half a second and 2 minutes and 26 seconds in the respective races. She also won silver in the 1,500-metre run with a time of 3:53.99, seconds behind gold.

The championships were held July 3-8 in Ottawa.

Dawson runner Jack Amos, 17, got bronze in the under-20 5,000 metre race. His time was 15:23.68, approximately half a second behind silver and seven seconds behind gold.

Back in April, Frotten crashed during the 1,500-metre race at the Commonwealth Games, and had to remove herself from the marathon.

“I got pretty banged up in the crash but it was also, like I was just not in a very good head space after that, I just put everything I had into getting to the Commonwealth Games,” she said.

“It took me a month, a month and a half to get back at it, so to have some really good races under my belt like that against some strong competitors was just what I needed.”

Frotten said it has taken a lot of mental training to recover, and she is grateful for the people who have helped her in the process. “I’ve had such amazing support system, that’s number one,” she said.

She also completed a 15k-road race on July 8 in Utica, New York, coming in fourth. She said road racing is a “completely different ball game,” and is something she wants to do more of.

“The stamina you need to get through it, but also wheelchair racing is a pretty technical sport and when you start mixing in climbing hills and going down hills and turning corners, (there’s) lots to learn,” she said.

Frotten has two meets in Quebec and then will be coming home to see family.

“It’s always fun when people ask you where you’re from and you get to say the Yukon because it’s just been such a big part of who I am,” she said.

“The support that comes out of there, it’s like none other.”

She will soon start training for future events, and hopes to make it to the 2019 World Championships in Dubai.

Contact Kallan Lyons at kallan.lyons@yukon-news.com