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Meet 2025 Canada Games Athlete, Keegan Waite

August 07, 2025
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    This month Special Olympics PEI athlete Keegan Waite will proudly be representing PEI at the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

    Since 1993, Canada Games has provided Special Olympics athletes with a high performance, competitive opportunity.  At this summer’s Canada Games, Special Olympics athletes will be competing in swimming and athletics. While separate from the Special Olympics Canada Games, Special Olympics athletes have the opportunity to compete in select events as part of the Sport Excellence stream of the Special Olympics athlete pathway.

    Keegan had the initial interest in Canada Games as a competitive opportunity, and approached Special Olympics PEI and his track coach. In order for this to become a reality, there had to be a big investment from a number of important individuals. A plan was set out with Donna Campbell, his training coach, and included another experienced athlete so he was not working on this goal alone. There was a minimum time standard agreed upon and he worked through injuries to be in a place today where he is healthy and has surpassed the standard times.

    Special Olympics PEI, Canada Games, Team PEI, Athlete with Volunteer
    Keegan Waite, right, with Athlete Chaperone, Matthew McNally, left at the Team PEI Athlete's Rally ahead of the 2025 Canada Games
    Keegan has an incredible outlook leading into the competition and is focused on beating his current personal best times in the 100m and 200m events that were set earlier this year. The games are about much more that the sport events, it will be a chance for him to connect with others in the athletics community as well as high performance athletes who participate in Special Olympics. The host culture and events surrounding the games will no doubt bring back memories that will last a lifetime. I look forward to continuing the support for Keegan onsite as he enters this competition after a well executed training period.
    Matthew McNally, Keegan’s Athlete Chaperone

    With the Special Olympics Canada Games 2026 coming up next year, Keegan is vying for a spot on (Special Olympics) Team PEI 2026. Through his experience at Canada Games he is hoping to put himself in a good position, mentally and physically.

    Keegan’s goal for Canada Games is a new personal best, something he has been training hard for. Keegan’s 100m personal best is down to 14.5 seconds, having started at 18 seconds. As Keegan strives for his own personal bests he is concentrating on weight training and focusing on his diet.

     

    I am mainly looking forward to the experience. It’s a big deal for me to even be able to represent PEI, whether it’s at a Special Olympics Games or at Canada Games. It’s a great opportunity for me to push myself.
    Keegan Waite

     

    Special Olympics PEI, Athletics, Athlete Running
    Special Olympics PEI, Athletics, Athlete Smiling

    Earlier this Summer Keegan competed with Team PEI at the Special Olympics Nova Scotia Provincial Summer Games.  Along with the opportunity to see some familiar faces, Keegan was excited for the opportunity to compete. Facing a tough division in 100m final Keegan kept his personal best in mind as he sprinted down the track under the lights on the opening night of competition. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for Keegan at Provincials as he stumbled and fell halfway through the race. Being the good sport that he is, Keegan picked himself up, and with a big smile, he clapped to the crowd who was cheering him on. 

    With a few bumps and bruises, Keegan laced up again for the 200m later in the weekend. Keegan kept a positive outlook, and ran a great 200m, finishing 5th, again in a very competitive final division. The weekend did bring redemption in the 100m for Keegan when he was picked up by Nova Scotia’s Eastern Highlands for the 4 x 100m relay. Running the anchor leg of the relay, Keegan crossed the line first, helping his relay team to a gold medal! Always with a positive outlook, Keegan joked later that he was happy to have gotten the fall out of the way early.

    Keegan is competing with Team PEI in Special Olympics Athletics during Week 2 of the 2025 Canada Summer Games. Keegan’s competition schedule for Games is below (times listed are NST). A live stream is available Stream & Broadcasting

    • August 19 - Men’s 100m Heats - 2:20-2:30pm
    • August 20 - Men’s 200m Heats - 2-2:10pm
    • August 22 - Men’s 100m A&B Final - 2:30-2:40pm
    • August 23 - Men’s 200m A&B Final - 2:00-2:10pm

    Join us in cheering on Keegan as he represents Team PEI at the Canada Games!