Yee

The clock was ticking. It was the final day to qualify for Tokyo 2020 and Regan Yee made it count.

The 25-year-old form Hazelton, B.C., ran the 3,000-metre steeplechase in 9:27.54 at La Classique d’athlétisme de Montréal. She not only won that race, but she broke Geneviève Lalonde’s national record of 9:29.82, dipping under the Olympic Entry Standard of 9:30.00 for the first time in her career. Needless to say, Yee took advantage of the race and flew away from the rest of the field.

“I saw the clock when I crossed the finish line and immediately just threw my hands in the air and was smiling and laughing,” said Yee a couple of days later. “I burst into tears at one point. There’s just so many emotions. You’re also exhausted from the race, so it’s hard to process right away.”

On June 25, Yee ran one of the best races of her life, winning the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the Canadian Olympic Trials. She crossed the finish line in 9:31.46, narrowly missing her personal best of 9:31.07 that she set on June 12 at the Harry Jerome Track Classic, to beat Alycia Butterworth and Lalonde.

Like many Canadian track and field athletes, Yee was limited to a few indoor races in 2020 before her season came to an abrupt halt. After graduating university in 2018, she was just getting into the swing of things as a professional athlete, too.

Yee kicked off her 2019 campaign by racing to a seventh-place finish at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships as part of Canada’s mixed relay team. She donned the Maple Leaf at the Pan American Games where she finished fifth in the 3,000-metre steeplechase and qualified for her first World Championships team.

“The 2019 World Championships were just totally overwhelming for me,” said Yee when asked about her experience. “You can mentally prepare all you want for a championship like that, but until you’re actually there in that environment and experiencing all those emotions, it’s really hard to learn how to deal with that.”

“Now that I have at least one experience under my belt like that, I think I’ll be able to manage my excitement and anxiety a little better at the Olympics, and hopefully I can stick to my race plan and execute it,” added Yee.

Yee attended Trinity Western University where she won five U SPORTS national titles, including three individual (one in the 1,500 metres and two in the 3,000 metres), and eight Canada West medals in her five years of eligibility. In her final year, 2017-18, Yee was named TWU’s Female Athlete of the Year. She holds TWU’s indoor school records in the 800 metres (2:07.97), the 1,000 metres (2:42.99) and the 3,000 metres (8:58.29). She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and is working on her education degree to become a math teacher.