Kenny Blackman Jr. won his heat in the men鈥檚 100m dash qualifying race on Thursday, the opening day of the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships in 91原创.

He was eagerly waiting to see if he made the cut to compete in the semi-finals Friday, but for the Trinity Western University athlete, competing at all was a win.

鈥淥ver the past month, I鈥檝e been dealing with a bit of a back injury,鈥� Blackman said.

The injury took place outside of formal training, but he believes it was caused by overuse. The injury threatened to prevent him from competing at the Canadian national meet, which runs from Thursday, July 27 through to Sunday, July 30 at McLeod Athletic Park.

鈥淚t was tough at first, mentally,鈥� Blackman said, as he dealt with being injured so close to a big competition.

He was fortunate to have a great support system, between his teammates at TWU, his family, and his friends, said Blackman.

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Some of those supporters were there on Thursday to cheer him on. His father and girlfriend were in the stands watching the track, and his mother was watching via a livestream from her workplace, said Blackman.

Getting to compete was a great feeling.

鈥淭his was one of my goals for the season, was to get here for nationals,鈥� he said.

Now he鈥檚 just 鈥渢aking it meet by meet.鈥�

A Surrey resident, Blackman is also taking part in the 200m qualifier on Saturday.

While Blackman was running his qualifier, pole vault, high jump, and javelin events were also taking place in other parts of the MAP complex.

The Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships are in their second year at the MAP.

The event hosts more than 1,330 athletes and 200 coaches, with senior, U20, Para Athletics, and combined events, and serves as trials for the World Athletics Championships.

The event will see 26 Tokyo 2020 Olympians competing, along with 10 Tokyo 2020 Paralympians.

More than 700 medals in various events will be given out over the course of the four-day championship.