Ubene to compete for Canada at World Cross-Country Championships

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His eligibility to compete at the university level now complete, Tecumseh’s Mitchell Ubene still has running goals.

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The 2021 U Sports men’s cross-country champion, the 24-year-old Ubene arrived in Bathurst, Australia on Tuesday ready to compete for Canada’s senior men’s team on Saturday at the 2023 World Athletics Cross-Country Championships.

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“This is a big one to make this team and I’m happy everything came through,” Ubene said.

The Vista Academy high school product was a decorated athlete during his university career with the Guelph Gryphons. While he is working to complete his Masters in mechanical engineering, he can no longer compete at the university level.

“I’m not eligible to compete in university anymore, so I don’t really compete in the university stuff,” Ubene said. “It’s more the club or whatever amateur or professional stuff I can find.”

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Ubene admits there is an adjustment to training and competing outside of the daily scheduled routine of university life.

“I still have my coach here in Guelph I had last year and I train with the Royal City (Athletics Club),” Ubene said. “So there’s a little of that, but post-collegiate running is a little different.

“It makes it a bit harder because you don’t have the constant team structure. You have to be committed yourself and setting goals.”

And that’s how Ubene is approaching this chapter of his career in a sport he wants to continue to chase.

“Canadian national teams are the main goals for me now,” Ubene said. 

This will be Ubene’s fourth appearance for Canada at the national level. He represented the country twice as a junior and made the senior NACAAC. 

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“The world national team is a more exciting one to make,” Ubene said. “Junior was exciting, but senior it’s almost like you really have to earn it.”

Ubene earned the spot after a fifth-place finish at November’s Canadian Cross-Country Championships.

“If you come in top four, you were automatically selected and I was fifth,” Ubene said. “I was on the brink, but they take six (runners), so I knew I had a good chance.”

This is the first time these championships will be staged since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada has 28 athletes set to compete at the event with a senior men’s and women’s team, junior men’s and women’s team along with a mixed team. However, hot conditions for a sport contested in late fall in Canada will make for a tough competition over the 10km course.

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“My main goal is to compete well within the national team,” said Ubene, who will run with Sarnia native and former Windsor Legion club member Andrew Davies. “If I can be front end of the six senior men, that would be big.

“Really good would be around a 50th placing. That would be an A-plus goal. It’s going to be tough.”

Ubene hopes this event will springboard him into the summer running season.

“After this, I would be looking for a big outdoor season,” Ubene said. “I did some indoor races, a 3km in Michigan and one in Boston. I was third last year at nationals outdoors over 5km and hopefully, this year, I can get back on the podium again.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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