Evan Backus exploded onto Haliburton’s sporting scene in 2023. Over the past two years, the grade 10 HHSS student athlete has competed in volleyball, badminton, cross-country running and Nordic skiing, in which he competed in 2024 at the OFSSA championship. However, it is in the sport of track and field in which the young hurdler has had the most impact. In his debut season as a competitive runner, Evan won multiple COSSA gold medals, qualifying for OFSSA (dubbed, the third most competitive high school track and field meet in North America) in both the 100 metre and 300 metre hurdle events. Running a blazing 42.01 seconds in the 300 metre hurdles final, Evan placed second and won the silver medal—the best finish for a Haliburton athlete at OFSSA in a generation. Training with his twin brother, Graham and the rest of HHSS’s track team, Evan is only beginning to see how fast he can run!
