Sienna MacDonald, an Airdrie-born athlete who currently attends the University of Calgary and competes on the school’s track and field team, was recently named University of Calgary Athlete of the Week, CanWest Athlete of the Week, and USport Athlete of the Week after a nearly record-setting performance at the Golden Bear Open in Edmonton.
MacDonald’s most recent success came in the pentathlon, where she totalled 4,139 points at the meet in Edmonton, the most points won by a single athlete at a USports event this season. Among her accomplishments was a 8.27 second 60 metre hurdles finish–a personal best for MacDonald and just .03 seconds shy of the USport record which was set by University of Calgary program head coach Jessica Zelinka in 2007.
MacDonald said she’s always been a gifted athlete. As a high school student at George McDougall, MacDonald played every sport offered by the school’s athletic program. It wasn’t until a basketball coach noticed her speed and athleticism and recommended that MacDonald try for the track team.
“At the time [my coach] said, 'Your speed is unreal on the court. I think you should give track a shot'. I quit playing basketball in grade 11 and joined the track club,” said MacDonald.
However, MacDonald confesses that her decision to try the pentathlon was purely accidental. As an athlete representing the Airdrie zone in the Alberta Summer Games, MacDonald was “voluntold” to compete in the heptathlon since the zone didn’t have an athletic representative in the event. She had never even done half the events of the heptathlon but ended up winning anyway. From there she moved into the pentathlon.
A heptathlon features seven events and is typically done outside, while a pentathlon only has five events and can be done indoors. As a pentathlete, MacDonald competes in the 60 metre hurdles, 800 metre race, shot put, long jump, and high jump.
A gymnast before taking to track, MacDonald said she credits gymnastics for helping to develop the coordination needed to compete in the heptathlon and pentathlon.
“When I started hurdling, I was literally doing the splits over the hurdles,” said MacDonald. “In long jump you have to basically fold in half over the pit. A lot of stuff transferred over really well.”
Aside from the physical demands that performing in five or seven track and field events can put on the body, the mental side is even tougher.
“Say hurdles don't go very well and you have a bad mark, you almost have to forget you had an event before and just move on. It's like 'you did it, it's done now, what do we have next?',” said MacDonald. “The mentality is so different from what you're doing at that point in time but as soon as it's over you have to forget about it, and that's what a lot of athletes struggle with.”
MacDonald said that her ultimate goal would be to compete at the Olympics and that she doesn’t foresee her track and field career ending when her school ends. As far as the Olympics go, one of MacDonald’s coaches said to her that she was on the right track.
“We’ll see what happens,” she said. “[It] gives me the strength to believe in myself.”
