Khamica Bingham Q&A - 2015 Hershey Canadian Indoor Championships

The 2015 Hershey Canadian Indoor Championships take place February 20 to 22 in Montreal, Que. The event serves as a national championship for youth and junior age category athletes and also features competition from Canada’s national team athletes in Open events. For more information and to register visit www.indoors.athletics.local

 

Khamica Bingham of Caledon, Ont., will race in the women’s Open 60m on Friday February 20. Khamica is a Commonwealth Games finalist in the 100-metres and ran a leg on the Canadian women’s record-setting 4x100-metres relay in 2013. Khamica is the defending champion in the women’s Open 60m at the Canadian Indoor Championships.

 

AC: How has your training been?

 

KB: Fall training is the phase that seems forever to me because it consists of running hills and long runs. This is especially physically and mentally challenging for me. Nevertheless, it was by far the best "base" training I've had yet in my career. The fall training has prepped me very well for my favorite phase of training, speed. Getting the opportunity this year to train about 2 solid months already in St. Kitts is the main reason why training has been going super well. I feel faster, stronger and healthier than I've ever been; and I'm so ready to compete and run fast this year. St. Kitts is a beautiful island but is also very small so there's not much do to. After practices I have to study or write my school assignments but when there's time I would go to the beach, the pool or watch movies with my teammates. On one occasion a couple of my teammates and I went to the beach and there was a man walking with his horse and 2 monkeys. We got the chance to ride the horse and hold the monkeys, which was so thrilling!

 

AC: How would you rate your 2014 season?

 

KB: If I were to rate my season on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it was a solid 8 out of 10. Almost every time I stepped on the track, indoor or outdoor I ran a personal best. The 2013 season didn't go as well for me so my mentality heading into the 2014 season was to simply dominate. I ended my indoor season with the fastest time in the country with 7.23, breaking the 60m York Facility, OUA, and CIS records. I couldn't be any more pleased with how my indoor season played out. The outdoor season started off similar to the indoor season. I opened my first 100-metre race with a personal best of 11.36 and qualified for the 100-metres at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. My experience at the Commonwealth Games was by far the best experience I have ever had internationally. From winning my heat, to running a personal best of 11.32 in the semi-finals AND qualifying for the 100-metre final, finishing 7th was incredible. I was the only Canadian athlete (female or male) to make a 100-metre final and was told later on that I was the first Canadian female to have made the final since 2006, and the youngest since 1974. That was so motivating and amazing to prove to myself that age is truly just a number. Afterwards, two days later, to anchor the women's 4x100-metres relay team that just missed out on a medal was a learning experience that I'll carry with me always. 

 

AC: What role does the indoor season play as you prepare for a year that features the Pan Am Games and World Championships? 

 

KB: The indoor season is important for me because speed wise it sets me up really well leading into the outdoor season. It gives me the chance to improve my start and also allows me to get into the habit of being consistent when executing my race. In the summer when we're all competing for top rankings and standards, it's the confidence and motivation that I gained from the indoor season that helps reduce the pressure. 

 

AC: What specific elements of your race or fitness are you focusing on this winter and this year?

 

KB: The 100-metres is really short so you have to be technically efficient when executing your race. For me, I have a fast start so I'm focusing on the top end of the race. That means practicing to slightly open my strides more to create greater distance and improving my foot frequency to have a faster turnover. 

 

AC: With the indoor championships in Montreal are there any memories of a competition or the city itself that you'd like to share? What do you like most about coming to Montreal?

 

KB: Last year, winning the invitational 60m was definitely a great memory and a nice way to end my indoor season. I remember that the food is amazing and the city is so clean and beautiful. I love that I get to practice my French. From elementary to grade 9, I was in French immersion, but unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to continue throughout high school and university as much as I would like to. So I highly enjoy trying to order food in French and pretending that I'm fluent!

 

AC: What are your goals for 2015?

 

KB: This year, my goals are to be top ranked in the 100-metres in Canada, win at the Canadian Championships and qualify for both the Pan Am Games and World Championships in Beijing. Once I'm there, I can do damage. My goal is to secure my spot first then focus on medals afterwards. It's really important for me that I get the experience competing in an individual event at Worlds and Pan Ams to set me up leading into the Rio Olympics. This year is the year that I want to be considered a serious threat to even the athletes that are extremely older than I am. I want the sprinters from Pan Ams and Worlds to say, "watch out for the Canadian sprinter, Khamica!"

 

-AC-

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