She was honoured for her achievements recently when Ontario Speed Skating named her the Ontario speed skater of the year. The 15-year-old has been on top of the podium many times during the 2013-2014 season, including winning the Ontario provincial championship.
She was selected to represent Team Ontario at the Canadian East Short Track Championship in Riviere-du-Loup Quebec where she wound up first overall, with four silvers in the 200 metres, 400m, 1,500m and the 3,000m, and a gold in the relay.
Those five medals put her first overall in the 14-year-old division. Speed skating is usually dominated by athletes from Quebec and Steenge was the only skater from Ontario to win a division at the meet, with the next four skaters behind her in her division from Quebec.
Steenge also competed at a national meet, the Montreal junior trials where she wound up 16th. At the Ontario Winter Games she earned four gold medals.
Her times in the 500m are the fastest for a female in Ontario.
Steenge, who attends David Suzuki Secondary School, is a member of the Brampton Ontario Speed Skating (BOSS) club. She trains twice a week with the club at Century Gardens. During the summer she will be heading to Quebec to train as she hopes to qualify next season for the World Juniors.
Comments are closed.