MIAMI (July 12, 2017) – It may be the summer time for the traditional college student, but there is no offseason for FIU track and field standout Gabrielle Rains when it comes to perfecting her craft in the discus. Rains, a rising sophomore for the Panthers, shows no signs of slowing down following a record-setting freshman campaign.
 
On July 6, the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native won the Canadian U20 Track and Field Championship discus title at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa, Ontario. Rains set a new championships U20 record with her toss of 51.60m en route to the gold medal.

Click here to read a piece on Rains and her Olympic aspirations in the Ottawa Citizen.
 
Rains will now compete on the international stage as she travels to Trujillo, Peru for the Pan-Am U20 Track and Field Championships, July 21-23, as one of 54 athletes that will represent Canada.
 
Before returning to Miami, Rains will take part in the 2017 Canada Summer Games at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, August 3-4.
 
During her freshman season at FIU Rains enjoyed a banner season. She took second-place at the Conference USA Championships in El Paso, Texas, with a throw of 50.95m, and advanced to the NCAA Division I East Region Prelims in Lexington, Kentucky, where her throw of 49.45m was 25^th.
 
It was, however, her first collegiate meet at the University of Miami that set the standard for Rains for the remainder of the season. During the Hurricane Invitational on March 18, Rains let loose on a throw of 53.10m which set a new school record and held up all season as the second-best throw in C-USA and the 42^nd best in the nation. Also, Rains' 53.10m is the 17^th-best U20 throw in the world this year and broke a 31-year-old Canadian record.

Fans are encouraged to follow the team on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUTrackXC) for all the latest FIU Track and Cross Country news.
 
Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

##### 

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 56,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/