Making his rounds

Kings County residents will have a rare opportunity to catch world-class wheelchair racer Ben Brown in action close to home this June.

Brown’s busy spring competition schedule will include the Aileen Meagher International Track Classic at Huskies Stadium in Halifax June 10.

Hailed as a versatile athlete with proven speed and endurance, Brown juggles a demanding competition schedule with a strict workout regime designed with one underlying end goal in mind: qualifying for the world championships.

Between May 12 and June 5, Brown is slated to race in Arizona, and multiple events in Switzerland. He expects to be racing in 100-metre and 400-metre events when he pushes for personal bests in Halifax June 10.

“I’m honestly just looking to break my meet records,” the 29-year-old said.

Brown clinched his first national title in the T53 100-metre sprint in 2016, missing the qualification time for the Rio Olympics by only 15 seconds. He finished nationals with a complete set of medals, claiming silver in the 200 m and bronze in the 400 m.

He travelled to Japan to complete his first marathon in October 2016, finishing just shy of two hours with a time of 1:56.10. He devoted the winter months to training in hopes of qualifying for the world championships in London, England from July 13-23.

Before that, he must first go head-to-head with fellow Canadian wheelchair racers at the national championships in Ottawa from July 3-4.

It’s clear there’s a lot on Brown’s plate in the midst of a jam-packed race season. But he takes it all in stride.

“I’m just taking it one race at a time.”