When middle-distance runner Kate Current, BESc’21, MESc’23, stands at the starting line of the women’s 1500-metre in Paris, France, she’ll be reaching the end of a careful path designed with her former Mustangs coach to realize her ultimate dream – competing at the Olympics.
It’s the result of hard work and discipline on and off the track. In 2020, Current sat down with Mustangs coach Guy Shultz to write out ‘Kate’s Four-Year Plan.’
Kate Current
Her personal map summarized strengths, weakness and goals, all in pursuit of making it to the 2024 Olympics.
“Making this team is the result of so many years of hard work not only from myself but from the team that supports me,” Current said.
“It truly does take a village to make an Olympic team. I really hit the jackpot with the coaching and support staff at Western.”
Current said Schultz has had a massive influence on her personal and athletic development over the last eight years.
“He has been instrumental in shaping me into the athlete I am today. I wouldn’t be here without him. It was Guy’s dedication, support, and patience that led to my qualification,” she added.
Competing in the Olympics is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Current, who started as a competitive gymnast before switching to running in high school.
“This has been my dream since I was a kid. I am so grateful and honored to have this opportunity to represent my country,” she said.
Athletics, academics dual priorities
Current was one of just eight Canadian student-athletes recognized with the Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation last year.
Engineering graduate and Mustangs track and field and cross-country star Kate Current was recognized with the Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation in a ceremony hosted by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ont. on Jan. 26, 2023. (Sgt Mathieu St-Amour, Rideau Hall © OSGG, 2023)
“This award is the culmination of six years of hard work and commitment to my athletic and academic endeavours. Balancing a degree in engineering while competing at the national level was not an easy undertaking, but I am grateful to have had the best support-system along the way that allowed me to excel in both areas of my life,” Current said at the time.
“My success as a student-athlete is not just a recognition of my personal achievements, but also a testament to the dedication of those around me. I am honoured to accept this award on behalf of Western, my team, my coaches, my supervisor, my family, and myself,” she said.
Named Female Athlete of the Year in 2022, Current is the school record holder in the 1500-metre and 3000-metre races, breaking records in both distances that had stood for 37 years. She represented Western at 10 U Sports championships during her university running career, earning six OUA All-Star awards, and four U Sports All-Canadian awards.
Current is just as accomplished academically.
She made the Dean’s Honour List every year since 2017 and completed her graduate courses with an average of 94 per cent. In 2022, she was awarded the Alan G. Davenport Memorial Scholarship based on academic achievement and contribution to the wind engineering community.
“I am very proud of Kate both as an athlete and as a former graduate and undergraduate student at Western,” said Girma Bitsuamlak, an engineering professor and director of Western’s Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Research Institute.
“I always used to tell her that she does two of the best things – wind engineering and running – and she does them both very well.”
Decades of service
Schultz, heading into his 11th season as head coach for the Mustangs Cross Country team, will be in Paris to support Current as she vies for a medal.
In 2016, Schultz coached the Mustangs to their first Ontario University Athletics’ (OUA) Championship in almost 30 years and was named OUA Coach of the Year as a result. He earned the title again this past fall, after leading the Mustangs to win the OUA Provincial Cross Country Championship banner.
Guy Schultz
Schultz believes in working with each athlete individually to bring out their best.
“I think our key to success is pushing them to do all the little things, like eating properly, sleeping properly, making sure they get their schoolwork done, their training done.”
Schultz ran with the University of Alabama from 1987 to 1992 in the 1500-metre and 3000-metre steeplechase (an obstacle race with more than two dozen barriers almost one-metre high and multiple water jumps). His experience as an athlete helped him appreciate the importance of good coaching.
“It taught me to treat everybody as an individual,” Schultz said.
‘Every race is an opportunity’
Ahead of the Olympics, Current’s training has been based in London, Ont.
“This year we focused on building a big foundation throughout the fall and winter seasons so I would be able to handle a heavy racing season in the summer to try to qualify for the Olympics,” she said.
Current previously competed at the World Athletics Championships and the World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
“I’ve learned that no two championships are the same, and every race is an opportunity to learn something new. The World Championships, for example, was a huge learning opportunity,” she said. “It was one massive lesson on capitalizing on the energy of the environment and never counting myself out, not to mention managing nerves, distractions and external pressure.”
She hopes for a repeat performance at the Olympics after running a personal best at last year’s world championships.
Schultz echoed that goal – but he has a few others for Current, too.
He hopes she has a “chance to race well, achieve a personal best if possible . . . and be proud that she made it to the Olympics.”
Read more about Western’s connections at the 2024 Olympics.
Mustangs at the Paris 2024 Olympics – Western Mustangs Sports
