LEXINGTON, Ky. ? University of Kentucky women?s track and field sprinter Jenna Martin is set to receive the Junior Athlete of the Year Award presented by Athletics Canada on Saturday, Nov. 24, in Toronto.
Athletics Canada is recognizing the UK sophomore for her exceptional accomplishments and outstanding athletic performance on the track in 2007. Athletics Canada, based out of Ottawa, Ontario, is the national sport governing body for the sport of track and field including cross-country running and road running, north of the border.
In a letter to Martin, the organization stated her athletic accomplishments enhanced the sport of track and field in Canada. They continued by praising Martin?s dedication and cited her as an inspiration to other athletes.
Martin, a Nova Scotia, Canada native, shattered her lifetime personal-record time in the 400-meter dash this past July in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. The Wildcat broke the 52-second mark (51.91) with her silver-medal performance. Martin holds 53 overall records in her home province and is a three-time Canadian Legion Champion in the women?s 400.
During her freshman season at UK, Martin earned the distinction of being one of only three female sprinters in Kentucky school history to run faster than 53 seconds in the 400-meter dash before becoming the first to beat the 52-second mark in Sao Paulo. She holds both the Kentucky freshman and varsity records in the outdoor 400-meters. Martin also owns the UK freshman record in the indoor 400 and is second on the all-time list for the event.
?Jenna Martin has been a remarkable athlete ever since she first set foot on this campus,? said assistant head coach for sprints and hurdles Erin Tucker. ?I just think this award signifies the culmination of everything she has done while at Kentucky.
?Last summer before her freshman season, she was coming off of an injury incurred that spring. The Canadian National Team wanted her to do some things over the summer with some of their relays. She decided to bypass that opportunity where she could have performed well, telling her coach that she wanted to come to the University of Kentucky healthy and be able to help the team out right away. That says a lot about the type of person we have in Jenna Martin.?
Fans can catch Martin and her Kentucky track and field teammates when they begin the indoor season by hosting the Kentucky Invitational, Jan. 11-12.
