Meet Pat Arbour

Hi all! I'm Pat. Born and raised in the nation’s capital. Growing up I played AAA Hockey just like all good Canadian boys in the winter. In the summer I brought my size to the soccer field. The highlight of elementary school was always the "Olympic Games"; our schools day long track and field event. I learned early on that I could throw things farther than the average kid. I started throwing the 800g spear in grade 9 after being influenced by my Dad's history with Javelin. Throughout high school I also played volley-ball and badminton but looked forward to track meets the most.

In 2005 I joined the Ottawa Lions and started throwing competitively. I was always encouraged to do the decathlon. My fear of the 1500m always lead to an abrupt end to those conversations with my identity as a thrower intact. In 2006, I met James Holder, a Canadian decathlon champion. I still insisted “I will never do the decathlon”…but by 2009 I was his full time athlete, training for the decathlon. Never say never! It turns out decathlon is a good fit for me: I have a short attention span, so this way as my attention dwindles I move onto the next event.

Since 2009 I have yet to look back.  Our humble single person training group has grown into quite the combined events training ensemble, a small army if you will. I love the decathlon; it’s a physical challenge, mental test, and “gut check”. If you can complete one, you come out the other end a better man. The brotherhood of fellow competitors truly is unmatched in sport. We push our athletic abilities every day we train, raising the bar both figuratively and literally.

Personal Bests:

Day 1= 3768                                  Day 2= 3825             Overall= 7593                        
100m-11.55                                   110mh-15.00
Long Jump-7.01                             Discus-50.82
Shot Put-15.32                               Pole Vault-4.51
High Jump-1.90                             Javelin-66.82
400m-52.02                                   1500m-5:00.06

Achievements:

2013: 1st Jim Click Shootout and IAAF top list.2012: 3^rd Canadian Olympic Trials
2012: PanAm team champions for combined events
2012: Current University of Ottawa Shot Put record holder
2011: 1^st Ontario Provincial's Decathlon
2011: 6^th Americas Combined Events Cup (Jamaica)
2011: 1^st OUA Pentathlon
2011: 1^st Team OUA all-star          
2011: 3^rd CIS Pentathlon
2010: 3^rd at National Championships in Decathlon 
2010: 2^nd Ontario Provincial's Decathlon  
2010: 3^rd OUA Pentathlon
2009: 3^rd Canada Games in Discus
2008: 2^nd at OFSAA in Discus
2008: 3^rd at OFSAA in Javelin