Preston Liebrecht is becoming a pretty big deal in the world of track and field.
The Yorkton native's latest major accomplishment came at the 2013 Canada Summer Games where he helped lead Saskatchewan's 4x100 relay team to a third-place finish in Sherbooke, QC.
"It was really cool to get to represent my province," said Liebrecht, who is on the University of Regina's track and field team. "Representing my province is something I worked hard for."
Liebrecht's relay team not only won bronze, falling to Ontario and Quebec, but they also broke Saskatchewan's 4x100 relay record.
"It was pretty cool to break that record," said the former Sacred Heart High School student. "We almost caught Quebec too for silver. We were gaining on them, but we just ran out of time. But it was a unbelievable feeling to win the bronze."
Liebrecht, 19, also took part in the 200m run. He unfortunately pulled his hamstring in the latter half of the final race, though. This ultimately led him to finish eighth in the B Final, which placed him 16th overall.
"It was very disappointing to pull my hamstring," said Liebrecht. "But since it was right at the end, if it was going to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time. I'm happy it didn't happen earlier in the games or I wouldn't have been able to compete in the relay. The timing also gives me a lot of time to fully recover since that was my last meet for this year."
Before heading to Quebec, Liebrecht had to make Saskatchewan's relay team in a Saskatoon meet and also took part in a preparation meet in Calgary.
"In Saskatoon I finished first in the 200m," he said. "Since I finished first in that event, they automatically put me on the relay team."
"I just prepared for the games in Calgary. It was pretty much just a practice. We didn't practice the relay there, but I did the 200m. Going into the final heat I finished third, but I did something to my groin, I wasn't really sure what, so I passed on the final race."
