“I made it to the finals for the 100m, but this year is definitely going to be better.”
For as much as Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School sprinter Melina Doiron, who also trains under Olympian Robert Esmie’s Air Blastoff banner, was already establishing new records this time last year, her quote above providing a comparison from OFSAA 2023 to OFSAA 2024 speaks volumes.
Well, perhaps not at the same volume as the crowd noise that erupted at the Laurentian track last week as the eldest of four children blazed to a victory in the junior girls 100m dash at city championships in a time of 12.19 seconds.
That’s 12.19 seconds, as in a touch faster than the current SDSSAA senior girls’ mark of 12.21 seconds established by OFSAA bronze medal winner Ashley Huard back in 2012.
That’s 12.19 seconds, as in a touch faster than the 12.24 clocking of Shadae Thompson from All Saints Catholic SS in Whitby, the gold medal winner in the junior girls 100m dash in 2023.
And that’s just the latest in a series of very impressive performances the Knights’ Grade 10 track star has posted since making the move from competitive gymnastics in the spring of 2022.
“It all changed almost overnight,” Doiron said, thinking back to the switch that triggered her run of success (pardon the pun).
“I was good, but I knew I wasn’t going to go much further in gymnastics and I wanted to challenge myself, wanted to go far with something.”
It wasn’t like Doiron was going into running cold. She clearly had talent going back to her days as an elementary school student at École Publique Hélène-Gravel.
“I ran in school and would win everything and my dad saw at a young age that I had potential,” said Doiron.
Her father, Philip Doiron, could see that potential, given he has some solid sprinting chops of his own. His name is enshrined in the retired SDSSAA track records (15.21, 110m hurdles, junior boys; 41.36, 300m hurdles, junior boys).
“I had it in my head that I might be good at this,” Doiron said. “A lot of the strength I had built up helped me transition from gymnastics to track.”
There was, however, at least some degree of double-edge to this sword.
“In gymnastics, your toes are always pointed down, so plantar flex, but in sprinting, you want dorsiflex (dorsiflexion),” she said. “That was definitely a challenge for me, something I am still working on.”
Then there are the things that simply cannot be taught.
Perhaps the most glaring difference between Doiron and everyone else that she ran against last week lies in the stillness of her head, the ability to run with the least amount of wasted body movement possible.
As ironic as it likely sounds, the stillness of her head is something that she honestly did not have to give a whole lot of thought to.
“Honestly, that’s something that is really natural,” she said. “I didn’t really even notice it; it’s something that Robert (Esmie, sprint coach and owner of Air Blastoff and Olympic gold medal winner) never mentioned to me.”
That’s saying something since anyone who knows Esmie knows he is a dynamic ball of energy who seldom has little to say, which is a wonderful attribute to share with his athletes since his positivity radiates everywhere that he goes.
“He always says that the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the sport,” said Doiron with a smile. “And I love the sport.”
Given the stages on which Esmie has performed, the big dreams that he shares with his young sprinters is balanced against an understanding of just how challenging the road to elite athletic success is to travel.
In recent months, Doiron and Esmie have trekked both to Los Angeles, as well as his native homeland of Jamaica, allowing the young sprinter to race against a whole other level of athlete.
“I wasn’t going there to win those races, but I got some PBs (personal best times),” said Dorion.
“It’s not going to be a straight path. You have ups and downs. You’re not going to PB every meet, you’re not going to win every meet, so you’ve got to learn that.”
For now, their sights are set on OFSAA 2024 – looking to build upon to learned experiences of 2023. “I did run times that I thought I was going to run there (last year) – but now we’re talking medals,” said Doiron.
The search to be better simply never ends.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
