By Canadian Press

Canadian middle-distance runner Knight turns pro, signs with Reebok

Jul 23, 2018 | 8:45 AM

TORONTO — When Justyn Knight ran an impressive 5,000-metre time as a high schooler at St. Michael’s College, his coach Frank Bergin told him to clear out a drawer to store all the college recruiting letters that were about to pour in.

That drawer filled to overflowing. Knight never counted how many letters there were, but the one from Chris Fox at Syracuse University was always at the top of the pile.

So it’s fitting that when Knight announced Monday he was turning pro, signing a sponsorship deal with Reebok, the 22-year-old from Toronto said that Fox was going along with him. Building from the ground up, Fox and Knight will form the foundation of the new Reebok Boston Track Club.

“I’ve never been the type to ride the wave, I like to create it,” Knight tweeted about their new business partnership Monday morning.

Fox was largely what drew Knight to Syracuse.

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“It’s very hard to find a coach who genuinely cares about you from more than just a coach and athlete perspective, he genuinely wanted me to be a good person as well . . . so we hit off right off the bat,” Knight said.

Knight raced to two NCAA cross-country titles and an NCAA 5,000-metre title under the 59-year-old coach, and was also a seven-time all-American. He finished ninth at the 2017 world championships in London in a historic 5,000 race for Canada — Mohammed Ahmed was sixth, marking the first time Canada has had two world finalists in that event.

Knight originally had his sights on one day playing in the NBA. But he took up track in Grade 10 after he trounced his classmates, including members of the school’s cross-country team, in a race in gym class.

When Fox reached out from Syracuse, Knight felt an instant connection.

“He seemed very relaxed, he didn’t seem like he was overly into running and running was everything in life,” said Knight, who majored in social work. “He was very personable, he knew I liked basketball so he talked about basketball sort of stuff when he was recruiting me.

“But what really convinced me from an athletic standpoint was he told me when I joined the program I wouldn’t just be thrown into a program and be doing exactly what everybody else in the group was doing, and that he knew I ran relatively low mileage in high school, but I would have to (build up) slowly and delicately so I didn’t injured. And I didn’t get injured my whole time at Syracuse.”

While Reebok’s global headquarters are in Boston — hence the club’s name — Knight and Fox will live and train in Charlottesville, Va. Knight said he’ll run the odd race and do appearances in Boston. Reebok also announced Monday that Jamaica’s Kemoy Campbell, former Penn State runner Tori Gerlach, and Knight’s Syracuse teammate Martin Hehir were joining the group. 

Knight said they hope to add more. 

“We have to start building a reputation for ourselves and convincing other guys to come join us too,” he said.

The club will also play an integral role in the research, development and innovation of future Reebok running gear.

“To have Coach Fox lead this team, and Justyn as a founding member, gets us off to a great start,” Reebok president Matt O’Toole said in a statement. “Coach Fox’s expertise in coaching athletes through technique, mental toughness, and creating a winning team culture make him the perfect leader to not only lead the club, but also to help us in the development of Reebok performance running product.”

Knight finished runner-up to Ahmed in the 5,000 at the recent Canadian championships in Ottawa. His next race is at the NACAC championships Aug. 10-12 at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. The meet is for athletes from North American, Central American and the Caribbean.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press