Issue link: https://publications.tfs.ca/i/1491681
C anadian Running named Gabriela Debues- Stafford Runner of the Year in January 2020 for her stellar 2019 season, which saw her break eight Canadian records and blaze through 11 personal- best times. She kicked off the World Championship year by breaking the Canadian indoor 5000 m record in Glasgow. A few weeks later in Boston, she smashed another national indoor record, this time in the mile. With the outdoor season heating up, she broke the national outdoor 5000 m record in the Stockholm Diamond League event in May. She continued to trim time off each run over the course of the year, besting herself in Brussels, where she broke her previous 5000 m record. Then, in the 1500 m at the World Championships in Doha, Gabriela became the first Canadian woman to break the four-minute mark in the 1500 m — and in the most dramatic fashion, flying past the world record holder in the final 200 metres in 3:56.12. Winning the S.W. Karrys Family Scholarship in 2013 coincided with Gabriela's breakthrough year into elite- level running on the national and international scene. "It was an honour, and it allowed me to pursue my running and my studies unpressured," she says. "I am grateful for that financial, emotional and moral support, as it led to other successes." The University of Toronto graduate holds a degree in social psychology, but for now she is focused on her running career. Having represented Canada at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Gabriela has set her sights on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She is heading next to Portland, Oregon, to continue her training. For the TFS grad who once wanted to study astronomy and astrophysics, the sky has no limits. " [Winning the S.W. Karrys Family Scholarship] was an honour, and it allowed me to pursue my running and my studies unpressured. I am grateful for that financial, emotional and moral support, as it led to other successes." GABRIELA DEBUES- STAFFORD '13 Middle-distance Track and Field Athlete B.A.Sc. Psychology, University of Toronto Recipient of Le prix de distinction des jeunes diplômés, 2018 Toronto, ON DEBUES-STAFFORD The S.W. Karrys Family Scholarship Impact Report 7