Connections with Mike Thom and Colleen Houde

Akeem Haynes: relentless perseverance

Connections with Mike Thom and Colleen Houde Akeem Haynes: relentless perseverance

Sep 6, 2022

22:20 Now playing

Episodes Notes

Born in Savlamar, Jamaica, Akeem didn’t have much of an advantage from the beginning. With limited options and tragic events happening early in life, he moved to Canada with his mother seeking a better life. However, they fell into tough times and struggled to find stability, moving many different times in a short period of time.


Down but not out, with the help of some friends, they were able to get back on their feet.  Akeem became involved in sports, mainly football and track and field. Akeem excelled both on the field and on the track and won many different awards.   In the 11th grade, he started to gain offers from Division I schools in the United States.


Nevertheless, Akeem’s path to becoming an NCAA Division I student-athlete was not smooth.  After failed attempts with the S.A.T. and the A.C.T. once, Akeem did not get the scores he needed to accept a full athletic scholarship from an NCAA institution.


You would think all of this adversity on top of having multiple learning disabilities would’ve stopped Akeem from furthering his education.  But quitting has never been an option.  He attended Barton Community College in the fall of 2010.  Two years later he would go on to make his first Canadian Olympic Team and earn All-American honours, becoming a national champion and earning a full athletic scholarship to The University of Alabama.


Akeem eventually went on to become the first in his immediate family to graduate from college on top of becoming a Division I Track and Field All-American.


Through perseverance, a resilient mindset and a stubborn attitude to succeed, Akeem has become a 2x Olympian (2012 & 2016), helping Canada bring home an Olympic Bronze Medal at the Rio Olympic Games.


With an intriguing story and captivating delivery, Akeem takes you through the highs and lows, and shows you what a resilient mindset can achieve.

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