From that first race to now, the trajectory has been sky-high. She fondly recalls jumping 1.74m at the BC Club Championships last year in Nanaimo and cherishes the memories from the BC Summer Games: "Competing with all my friends was really cool."
As she continues to push boundaries, Dennis has her eyes on the next benchmarks: 1.90m in the high jump before she turns 15 in July, and even faster times on the track -- sub-11s in the 100m and low-24s in the 200m. And beyond that? "Competing in the Olympics would be an absolute dream of mine."
She finds inspiration in world-class athletes like Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Sha'Carri Richardson, and brings that same fire into training. "I love jumping-it's my favourite part of training with my track team," she said. "But 6x200s are probably my least favorite."
Balancing the demands of school and sport isn't easy, but Dennis takes it in stride and shares wise words for younger athletes: "Don't give up if you have a bad day. I've had many days where I didn't think I performed well, but I pushed through. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished so far."
At just 14, Jaylah Dennis is setting the bar-literally and figuratively-for the next generation of Canadian track stars. And if her current trajectory is any indication, this is only the beginning.