Ryan Lofstrom, a rising star from Carihi Secondary had quite the extraordinary 2023 track season. With a string of provincial titles under his belt and representing Canada on his first national team, Lofstrom has even more goals to check off his list as the 2024 season arrives.
I caught up with Lofstrom about his start in the sport, his progress throughout high school and what he hopes to achieve in the years to come.
Personal Bests
100m: 10.63
200m: 21.56
Career Accolades
2023 100m & 200m High School School Record (Junior)
2023 100m & 200m High School Provincial Championship Record (Junior)
2023 Provincial Club Champion 100m | 200m Silver
2023 U20 Nationals 100m 5th | 200m 4th | 4x100m Relay 1st
2023 Commonwealth Games 100m 5th | 200m 4th
2023 U18 BC Athlete of the Year
2022 BC Summer Games Champion 100m, 200m & 4x100m Relay
2022 Legions 100m & 200m Bronze | 300m Silver | Relay Gold
2022 U16 BC Athlete of the Year
Lofstrom has loved running for as long as he can remember, even more so than any other sport he tried as a child.
"As a kid I recall myself playing both basketball and soccer the most, yet I never truly found a deep passion for either. Then one day I was given the opportunity to join the St. Albert Mustangs Track & Field Club and I figured I would give it a shot since I loved to run. Just a few days later, after the first practice, I knew track was the sport for me."
You could say that something just clicked for Lofstrom because the more involved he became in the sport, the more he excelled. In his Grade 9 year of high school the sprinter from Campbell River, in his first year as a Junior, placed 7th in the 100m (11.68), 4th in the 200m (23.39) and 4th in the shot put (11.83m) at the 2022 BC High School Track & Field Championships. From there he went on to compete at the 2022 BC Summer Games and Legion National Championships as part of Team BC, gaining valuable competitive experience.
Flashforward to early 2023, Lofstrom set Island Records at the North Island Championships, winning the Junior Boys 100m and 200m with times of 10.87 seconds and 22.37 seconds, respectively, miles ahead of where he was the previous year.