Shane Niemi (born June 2, 1978, in Kamloops,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

is a retired

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sprints athlete. As a 17 year old he took the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 1995 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships behind

Obea Moore William Obea Moore (born January 10, 1979) is a former American sprinter. Particularly excelling in the 400 metres, Moore held the World Youth Best in this event for nearly 24 years. He was expected to be the next great American quarter miler, t ...

's then World Youth Best. The same three athletes (Jerome Young in silver position) finished in the same order at the

1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Sydney, Australia on August 20–25. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1049 athletes from 142 cou ...

. He returned to the 1997 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships to take the gold medal in the event. He was not able to make the qualifying standard for the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. He ran his personal record, the Canadian record, 44.86 at the 2001 Jeux de la Francophonie (French Games) on home soil in Ottawa to take gold. He made the semi-finals at

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

and the following year earned the silver medal at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

beating the world champion

Avard Moncur Avard Moncur (born November 2, 1978) is a Bahamian track and field athlete competing in the 400 metres. He was born in Nassau. Career Under the guidance of coach Henry Rolle, Moncur's most successful year came in 2001 when he won the gold m ...

. He won six straight

Canadian championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to: * Canadian Championship, a soccer tournament * Canadian Figure Skating Championships * Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championships * Canadi ...

between 1998 and 2003. Unable to make the qualifying mark to the 2004 Olympics, he retired in late 2004.

Competition record

He holds the current BC high school track and field 400m record of 46.8 in 1996 while he was attending Westsyde Secondary School in Kamloops.http://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20150521/282050505652981

Personal bests

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

- 20.61 s,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

2001 * 400 metres - 44.86 s, Ottawa 2001

References

External links

* 1978 births Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Canadian male sprinters Living people Sportspeople from Kamloops Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Pan American Games track and field athletes for Canada Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games {{Canada-athletics-bio-stub