The Grade 10 Michael Power/St. Joseph Catholic Secondary student earned a silver and a bronze medal to complement the gold medal he won at the Canadian Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec recently, after a solid track season.
His first national meet, Juha, 14, garnered top honours in the 200-metre at the Aug. 8 to 10 meet, clocking in at 22.96, second-place in the medley relay, and third in the 100-m dash, all in the under-15 grouping.
"He's had quick times all year, so this really wasn't anything unexpected," explains his mother, Paulette Eddy.
A junior athlete of the year at his high school, Juha left most of his opposition in the dust this spring and summer - first regionally at the Catholic school board championships where he ran the 200-metre in 23:01; then provincially at OFSAA with a personal best time of 22.93; and lastly, at the most recent Quebec nationals - and he's wasted little time in doing it.
"It was more fun than anything," he said, referring to the Athletics Canada meet, put on and funded by the Canadian Legion. "It was a chance to meet other athletes from other provinces, it was a good experience."
It was just this year that the York-based Centro Scuola Track and Field Club star decided to break away from the longer distance cross country discipline and to the sprint events.
"In Grade 7 and 8 I just started doing worse in cross country and better in the 100 and 200," he said.
Attending the Summer Games in London in 2012 is high on his list of goals but he's hoping his prowess on the track will get him a full athletic scholarship in a few years.
"That's really my goal, to get a scholarship in the U.S. out of this.
"That would be a nice add-on though," he added, about representing his country at the Olympics in four years.