Hurdler Xahria Santiago, 15, at the resurfaced track beside the new Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium at York University. She recently won silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the world youth championships in Colombia.

Athlete: Xahria Santiago

Sport:    Hurdles

Venue:  Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium (York University)

Cost:      $45 million (contractor asking for an undisclosed additional amount)

Xahria Santiago worries that her interview answers may be a little incoherent especially after flying in the previous night from a meet in Colombia, the 15-year-old Ajax athlete was slow getting out of bed in the morning….And slow just isn’t in her genes.

Already among the nation’s top teenage hurdlers, Santiago collected silver in the women’s 400-metre event at the IAAF World Youth Championships with a personal best of 56.79 seconds — a Canadian record in her age group.

“I know I can do better,” says Santiago, whose parents were high school sprinters.

The new 5,000-seat stadium is a world apart from the high school track in Unionville where Xahria Santiago has previously done most of her training.  That confidence, she says, has been bolstered by the opportunity she’ll now have to train at the top-caliber athletics facility that the Pan Am Games have bestowed on the region.

The York University stadium — home to the Games’ track and field events and site of the Parapan Am opening ceremonies — provides the best amenities a budding track star could hope for and a significant upgrade on what she’s been accustomed to, Santiago says.

“I think being able to practice at a facility like that, with everything I need to improve my times, is going to benefit my hurdling skills,” she says.

That the facility will have the prestigious Pan Am imprimatur of star athletes such as Markham sprinter Andre De Grasse — her hero — will also make it a place of athletic inspiration for Santiago.

“It’s definitely going to inspire me to live up to their runs,” she says.

Santiago had done most of her outdoor training at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Unionville.  And while it provided fine hurdling equipment, the high school can’t come close to the new facility at York, she says.   The new stadium will have 5,000 permanent and temporary seats, a 400-metre track, change rooms and classroom space. It sits next to the pre-existing indoor Toronto Track and Field Centre.

“It’s definitely going to be a big change,” Santiago says. “The new track will have a faster surface. I think it’s going to be a great experience.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/08/15/these-future-stars-are-pan-am-games-real-winners.html