Injuries happen in sports quite often and in some cases, it takes an athlete months and months to recover to get back up to speed.
For Breken Brezden, a hip injury that she suffered in September has provided plenty of stress for the Dauphinite over the past couple of months. While the injury held Breken back a little bit when it came to training at 100%, Brezden did not allow the injury to get her spirits down as she recovered and resumed her training ahead of the senior women's Skate Canada Challenge which took place from November 30 to December 3 at Seven Oaks Arena in Winnipeg.
Up for grabs was a spot in the Canadian national championships next month in Calgary.
"I was definitely feeling very nervous, I wasn't at a point that I can confidently say that I was doing very well," said Brezden. "I didn't have maybe the difficulty that some of my competitors had. With that said, I made sure to get the things done that I could do very well and I believe I was successful in doing that."
The top 18 skaters at the event would earn the right to compete at the nationals and when the dust settled on Sunday afternoon, Brezden locked up her spot with an 11th-place finish. Brezden was in 12th place after racking up 50.32 points in her short program and a great free program saw her jump up one spot.
The finish put her comfortably inside the Top 18 as Breken will now head to Calgary for the nationals next month. It will be her first time competing in a senior women's national championship.
"I'm very proud and happy with the result," said Brezden. "When it comes to competition, it's all about turning up that competitive spirit, even if it isn't perfect. It's been a challenging few months, but I'm very happy and excited that I was able to qualify for the nationals."
The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships occur from January 8 to 14 at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. When it comes to what Breken is looking forward to most, it all starts by just stepping into the facility.
"It's a gorgeous facility, so it's going to be very exciting to get the opportunity to skate there," ended Brezden. "I also haven't been to Alberta in a while so that will be a nice change. And, competing at my first national women's championship will be the best part of it all."
In preparation for the event in just more than a month, Brezden will train six days a week. While that may seem daunting to some, Brezden is doing what she loves and it's her passion and dedication that has led her to the national stage.
