Nathaniel Mechler - 3rd at the Pan American Juniors (1)

I am in my last year of Juniors and things look very promising for me to make World Juniors in Poland (Bydgoszcz) this summer and hopefully do very well there.  Last year I was 3rd at the PanAm Juniors but my results this year are a lot better than last year (already went 4.80m in pole vault indoors and 48.75sec 400m indoors) so I expect a much, much higher decathlon score this summer hopefully 8000 points.

I am also fortunate because I will be starting at the University of Houston this fall on an athletic scholarship where I will be coached by many amazing coaches like Leroy Burrell, Kyle Tellez, and Carl Lewis. It is difficult to train in Canada during the winter so I will love the 12 months outdoor training.

Decathlon is not as popular in Canada, but as you know Damian Warner has been doing very well and he actually only lives about 1 hour away from me. I am hoping to follow in his footsteps and represent Canada at the Senior level, hopefully in the next few years. He is a great guy.

Thanks again for the great job you do with your website. Both me and my father love going onto the site.

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I have an online interview I did with TrackTownCanada after my bronze at the Pan American Juniors. It's just talking about advice for young athletes and a bit about myself.

TTC: Who were your role models when you were growing up?

Growing up I competed In a lot of sports so in each sport I had a specific role model. In hockey my role model was Alexander Ovechkin In soccer it was Ronaldinho and in track and field it was and still is Ashton Eaton.

TTC: Being a competitive athlete can be very mentally and physically demanding. What do you do in terms of training on a regular basis?

For training i've learned that for me less is more. I had suffered from injuries in the past and with my recent large growth spurt I have done a lot of strength training to make sure my body can take the intensity of the decathlon. This past year I have been training around five times a week and I was doing very little event specific training. Now that I have a year of solid decathlon training behind me I hope to be able to increase my training.

TTC: What is your greatest athletic achievement to date?

I believe that my greatest achievement so far has to be my bronze medal at the Pan-American Junior Championships. I was not projected to medal and I was the youngest competitor in the Decathlon. Even after all the disappointments and under performances on day two I was still able to come out with the bronze after a very grueling 1500m.  

TTC: In your opinion, how important is an education for young boys and girls who aspire to reach that next level in their chosen sport?

Education is critical for young boys and girls. I am just learning now how important school is at a young age. I never really put in an honest effort until my final year of high school and it's been a lot harder on me than it should have been if I had put in the work in my younger ages.

TTC: What are your future goals in both your career and your chosen sport?

My future goal is to make a career out of track and field specifically in the event Decathlon. My largest ambition is to make the 2020 Olympic team and represent my country on the largest stage in track and field.

TTC: Can you share some “words of wisdom” for someone who is thinking about getting in to athletics?

Don't rush the process. Understand the development of your body and don't rush to achieve something your body is not yet ready to accomplish. At a young age many kids see others their age achieving massive feats and they mimic their training to try to achieve the same thing but the best thing you can do at a young age is to be patient. It doesn't happen over night and it doesn't happen to those who rush their development. My last piece of wisdom is to find a coach who is wise over a coach who is knowledgeable. Having both is great but wisdom is more critical then knowledge.

Nathaniel Mechler