Be A Maverick. The University of Texas at Arlington
Running down a dream
Former UT Arlington sprinter Jared Connaughton’s dream recently became reality when he competed in Beijing as a member of the Canadian Olympic team.
A Maverick standout from 2004-07, he ran the third leg of Canada’s 4×100-meter relay team, which finished sixth. He also advanced to the 200-meter semifinals with a time of 20.60 but failed to make the finals.
A native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Connaughton clocked 20.34 in the 200 meters to finish first at the Canadian Olympic Trials in July. Canada’s 4×100 relay team finished second in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As a youngster, he competed primarily in hockey and soccer, relying on his speed to be an effective player. In high school he discovered track, a sport he’d never considered because his small Maritime island didn’t have proper facilities.
“My strongest attribute was always my speed,” he said. “So I think track and field was a blessing. It was a natural fit for me.”
Connaughton can thank David MacEachern, a Charlottetown, P.E.I., native and gold-medal winning bobsledder at the 1998 Winter Olympics, for helping him find his true calling. MacEachern was looking for elite athletes to train, and the two connected in March 2002. Six months of heavy training later, Connaughton won a gold medal in the 200 meters at the Canadian youth championships.
“I went from basically nothing to the fastest youth in Canada in a very short period of time,” Connaughton recently told Metro, Canada’s online newspaper. “I think that was my awakening as far as what my potential could possibly be.”
He opened the eyes of UT Arlington track coach John Sauerhage, who recruited Connaughton to come to Texas.
“Jared was young and ready to go to work when he arrived at UT Arlington,” Sauerhage said. “The potential for greatness was obvious.”
Connaughton fulfilled that potential. He became a 14-time all-Southland Conference performer, setting a school record with a 6.68 in the 60-meter dash and twice winning the conference outdoor 200-meter championship. He was named the SLC Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer during the 2006 indoor season.
“I came to UTA believing that I could run fast,” he said. “Being a Maverick transformed me athletically and personally. I’m very proud to be from Canada, and I’m very proud to be from UTA as well.”
Connaughton, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, is the 10th Maverick to compete in the Olympics. He joins track and field standouts David Peltier (Barbados, 1984), Joseph Sainah (Kenya, 1988), Peter Dajia (Canada, 1992), McClinton Neal (USA, 1992), Elston Cawley (Jamaica, 1996) and Takeshi Fujiwara (El Salvador, 2004).
Swimmer Doug Russell won two gold medals for the United States in 1968, and Lanny Bassham won a silver medal in 1972 and a gold medal in 1976 in small-bore rifle for the United States. Former track hurdler Karin Olsson (Sweden) competed in the bobsled at the 2002 Winter Olympics.