SUDBURY – Along with completing another highly successful marathon recently, Christian Kaiser-Fox, 25 (who is originally from M’Chigeeng First Nation and now lives in Sudbury), was able to meet up with a hero of his, Billy Mills. Billy Mills was the 1964 Tokyo Olympics 10,000-metre gold medal winner.
“It was awesome,” Mr. Kaiser-Fox said of meeting Mr. Mills, and having competed in the California International Marathon. “I work for the N’Swakamok Friendship Centre in Sudbury, and we had (Mr. Mills) make a presentation through Zoom last March,” he told The Expositor.
Mr. Kaiser-Fox explained, “at the end of his presentation in March I asked him if I could meet him if I travelled to California.”
“We spent a couple of hours together, and we talked about running, families and our culture,” continued Mr. Kaiser-Fox. “It was great.”
Mr. Mills is from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and has become a prominent advocate of humanitarian causes and racial and social justice. He is also a motivational speaker for Indigenous youth all over.
Mr. Kaiser-Fox, who recently completed a 100-kilometre run for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, said that in the marathon race held in Sacramento, “my time was 40 minutes better than my last marathon. Yes, I’ve been training really hard.”
“Yes, hopefully I can qualify for the Boston Marathon eventually, I was 13 minutes off the qualifying time for it (Boston Marathon),” added Mr. Kaiser-Fox.
