Canadian standout representing Reebok Boston Track Club looks to build momentum following mile victory at Dr. Sander Invitational against elite men’s 3,000-meter field at The Armory

By Angela Mercurio for DyeStat

Justyn Knight is no stranger to winning.

During his collegiate career at Syracuse, he claimed two NCAA Division 1 championships – 2017 cross country and 2018 for the outdoor 5,000 meters, as well as 13 Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

Since exhausting his NCAA eligibility, turning pro and signing with Reebok in 2018, he had not again stood atop of a podium – until two weeks ago.

Knight, 23, got his first professional win representing Rebook Boston Track Club at the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge, winning the mile Jan. 25 in a time of 3 minutes, 59.32 seconds at The Armory in New York.

“(It) was very special to me,” Knight said. “I haven’t won a race in a pretty long time. I would say since my last year in college. I think just being able to get back to the point where you’re the first person to cross that line is a very heartwarming experience.

“As soon as my plane reached Charlottesville that night and I woke up the next morning, it was back to the grind.”

In Knight’s case, the grind involves returning Saturday to The Armory to run in the Dr. Sander men’s 3,000 meters at the 113th NYRR Millrose Games. Knight is part of an elite international field that also includes Kenya’s Paul Tanui and Edwin Kurgat, a senior at Iowa State, along with Jordan Gusman of Malta.

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The recent decision by World Athletics to postpone the 2020 World Indoor Championships did not deter Knight’s training plan for this season.

The thought of traveling to China, then having to return and prepare for Canadian National Championships to qualify for the Olympics presented a big inconvenience for Knight.

Although this would be his first appearance at the Olympic Games in August in Tokyo, Knight has already made numerous international appearances, including a pair of top-10 finishes in the 5,000 for Canada at the World Outdoor Championships in 2017 and 2019.

He also raced in the 5,000 at the Rome Diamond League last year. Unfortunately, World Athletics has decided to exclude the 5,000 from this year’s Diamond League schedule.

“They took the 5K out, but I do plan on getting into a Diamond League, whether it is a 1,500 or a 3K,” Knight said. “I think even if it’s not a Diamond League, I think my agent Ray (Flynn) will get me over to Europe to run a few competitive races there.”

In the meantime, he is enjoying his transition from the collegiate level to the professional ranks, although it was much harder than he anticipated. Various challenges came up along the way, most notably the realization that many of the student-athlete perks are not as easily accessible once you become a professional athlete.

“I think after a whole season of going through a bunch of downs and finding out how I can get back to my competitive nature, it really made me stronger going into World Championships at the end of the summer,” Knight said. “And even coming into this year, I find myself a lot more level headed and a lot more hungry and way ahead of where I was before. I know what it takes to be an elite athlete and certain things that I have to hold myself accountable for for me to perform the way I would like to.”

Like every professional athlete, performing the way they would like to this year means qualifying for the Olympics. Interestingly, one of Canada’s rising hopefuls for a spot on the team competing in Tokyo this year started running track because Knight had a bad grade in his 10th-grade gym class.

“My teacher said that the only way I could get my grade up is if I show I’m giving my 100 percent effort,” Knight said. “The last unit left was running and we had to do a 5K at the end of the year, which is part of your grade. So every day at practice I made sure I was at the front of my class, and when it came down to the actual run, I broke the school record in the 5K.”

Since then, he has recorded two top-10 times in the 5,000 in NCAA history, with his PR of 13:17.51 from the 2017 outdoor season ranking him fourth, in addition to the seventh-fastest outdoor 1,500 time in NCAA history with 3:36.07 in 2018.

Although he trains and competes across the varying distances, Knight remains focused on the 5,000, the same event that introduced him to the sport of track and field.

“Justyn is absolutely one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever trained with. He’s very humble, but constantly striving to push boundaries in the sport. His confidence and consistency are inspiring,” said Reebok Boston TC teammate and fellow Canadian Ben Flanagan, the 2018 NCAA 10,000 champion from the University of Michigan.

Even with his previous success and realistic future aspirations, Knight remains as humble as Flanagan describes.

“I’ve been blessed to have the talent to be able to run and working hard has helped me elevate my success in track,” Knight said. “But staying humble in track is always important. One, you don’t ever know how it will affect others, just being nice and making time for people, and two, that’s just what you got to do, treat others how you want to be treated.”