Go for the Gold with Daniel
A Not-For-Profit Organization
Daniel Chan
400m Hurdles, Canadian Athlete
Double gold medalist at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in the 400m hurdles and 4x400 relay
Join me on my journey toward the Canadian
Olympic Team 2016. Help me go for gold!
The goal of Go for the Gold with Daniel is to support the athletic endeavors of
Canadian 400m hurdler, Daniel Chan, to be able to participate in local, regional,
national and international sports competitions, including the Olympics and World
Championships. Daniel has received medals and recognition for his athleticism
and is encouraged to further pursue his sports career. Financial aid will help him
reach his full potential. Funding is one of the main challenges for promising
athletes. Go for the Gold with Daniel will assist other athletic hopefuls, once
Daniel’s financial goal has been met.
Tel: 905-707-6558
Email: [email protected]
Please visit: www.goforthegoldwithdaniel.ca
Top 5 finish 400m hurdles at 2012 Olympic Trials
Represented Team Canada at World Juniors Track and Field Championships 2010
Canadian Interscholastic Track and Field 300m hurdles record holder
4th place 400m hurdles at USA New Balance Nationals 2010
Member of Hall of Fame, Unionville High School, Markham, Ontario
Having won two gold medals at the Canada Summer Games, Daniel Chan
takes aim at Olympics.
In the recently held Canada Summer Games, Ontario representative,
Daniel Chan won two gold medals in the men’s 400 meters hurdle and 4 x
400 meters relay. The time he ran in the 400 meters hurdles ranks him 3rd
overall in Canada - a huge step closer to his Olympic dream.
Living in Ontario and soon turning 22 years of age in November, Daniel is
a social science student at the University of Toronto. This summer, he was
one of the two athletes chosen by Team Ontario to compete in the Canada
Summer Games, which is a biannual event. In his main event, the 400
meters hurdle, Daniel came first with the time 52.11 seconds. After the
race, Daniel told that winning the race was his main target. Despite that the
time 52.11 seconds was not his personal best, he did perform to his best
and he was pleased with the result.
“My dream is to represent Canada in the Olympic Games, and to achieve
that, I have to be the number one in Canada; I still have about two years to
practice and to improve.” Says Daniel. To achieve his goal, Daniel has
made tight training schedules for the coming years – six days of practice
and one day of rest every week.
Other than athletic training, school is also a very important part of Daniel’s
life. Daniel believes that sports and school are mutually beneficial to each
other. Without a clear goal in sports, he may lose drive in learning as well.
There are relatively few outstanding Asian track and field athletes in the
world. Daniel also realizes that there are not many Asian athletes around
him. However, he does not see track and field a particular weakness for
Asian athletes. He is confident that he can do well. He adds that his
practicing “Qigong” (life energy, a traditional Chinese martial arts) since
childhood has boosted his performance in sports.
Daniel’s mother, Yeung Wan-Yung (Master Teresa), is a Qigong master,
and Daniel started learning Qigong from her at a very young age.
According to Daniel, Qigong helps him focus on his breathing, and this is
especially important when he is on the track. Qigong also speeds up his
recovery from injury.
Hurdlers get hurt easily. Daniel reached his first milestone in his athletic
journey by representing Canada in the IAAF World Junior Championships
in 2010. But in the two years that followed, he suffered various injuries that
inhibited him from formal training and competing. Luckily with the help of
Qigong therapy, Daniel recovered fully, and was able to win the gold at the
2013 Canada Summer Games.
Though hurdling may get him hurt, Daniel asserts that he will not give up
the sport. He is attracted to it not because of what sports stardom may
bring him one day, but because of values instilled in him by his mother - the
impHortance of dedication, determination and perseverance.