Talia Phangura is aiming to throw her way to a scholarship at an American university, breaking records and collecting medals along the way.
The Surrey 16-year-old, recently named among nominees for Sport BC's 2025 Athlete of the Year awards, has excelled in throwing events (shot put, hammer, discus) for her North Surrey Secondary school team and also Dynamo Throws at club track and field meets, both provincial and national.
Right now, ahead of the B.C. awards event on March 6 and the coming outdoor track season, Talia is training four days a week, sometimes more, at rings in North Surrey and Maple Ridge.
"We actually just finished putting down ice-melt and shovelled the ring, so we're gonna throw soon here," coach Brad Graham said on a recent snowy day, during a conference call with his star student-athlete.
Raised by sports-minded parents, Talia got her start in track at age eight.
"I qualified for my school district meet and I ended up getting third," she recalled. "My mom, she got me into it because she did track when she was younger."
Talia's father, Parm Phangura, was a national-team weightlifter at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where he befriended Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot put Olympian and a longtime pal of Graham's, dating back to their high school days of throwing (Armstrong in Kamloops, Graham in Maple Ridge). Armstrong helped connect Talia's family with Graham, his throws-coach friend.
As a Grade 10-er last June, Talia won the Junior Girls shot put competition (third year in a row), discus (second year in a row) and hammer at the B.C. High School Track & Field Championships in Nanaimo, becoming the first female athlete to ever win the “triple crown” of throws at the provincial meet, according to Graham. At the same time, she was the defending national age-class champion in shot put.
In Richmond early February, she competed for the first time since August, at the 2025 Harry Jerome Indoor Games.
"We hoping she breaks the B.C. U18 records for two different implements, the 3KG shot put and also 4KG shot," Graham explained. "She was less than 30 centimetres away from it last year, so I think it will be within reach at the first outdoor meets in March."
With medal-winning throws in 2024, Talia is nominated for Sports BC High School Female Athlete of the Year in a three-way race with Agnia Krakovska (wrestling, Maple Ridge) and Miah Schuurman (basketball and volleyball, Chilliwack).
Other athletes from Surrey and White Rock, including some who competed at the Paris Olympics last summer, are among the finalists for Sport BC's Athlete of the Year awards, hosted by the CBC’s Scott Russell at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
The $225-a-ticket ceremony recognizes B.C.’s best in amateur sport including athletes, coaches, teams and officials, for outstanding performances in their sport in 2024. Finalists represent 29 sports from communities across the province.
Among the finalists are Surrey's Sebastian Massabie, a Paralympian swimmer who broke records and won gold in Paris last year, as well as White Rock-raised sitting volleyball athlete Danielle Ellis, who won a bronze medal with her team in Paris last September. Both are nominated in their respective Athlete with a Disability category.
In the Senior Male Athlete of the Year Category, another finalist is Surrey wrestler Amar Dhesi, who placed ninth in the men's 125KG freestyle competition at the Paris Games last summer. Other Surrey-area athletes up for awards are Lowan Le Bris (judo, Junior Male Athlete of the Year) and Shallon Olsen (gymnastics, Senior Female Athlete of the Year).
Biographies of the six Surrey/White Rock athletes nominated for 2025 Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards, as submitted by event organizers:
Sebastian Massabie, swimming: "Sebastian splashed to a gold medal in world record time at the 2024 Paralympics, winning the S4 50-metre freestyle in 35.61 seconds to become the first Canadian to win a medal in the S4 class. At just 19, this Surrey swimmer also won gold in five events at the national championships, capping the year ranked world No.1 in the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly and was named Swim BC’s 2024 Male Swimmer of the Year."
Danielle Ellis, sitting volleyball: "Third time was the charm for White Rock’s Danielle and her Canadian Paralympic teammates in Paris. After finishing seventh at the Rio Games and fourth in Tokyo, the Canadians took the bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympics with a 3-0 win over Brazil. Team captain Ellis notched 13 points in the bronze medal match. Earlier in the year Ellis led her teammates to the gold medal at the Dutch Tournament and a fifth-place effort the 2024 Super Six international tournament."
Talia Phangura, athletics: "Talia, from North Surrey Secondary, dominated the junior girls’ throws at the 2024 BC High School Track and Field Championships in Nanaimo, winning the shot put, hammer and discus events. She went on finish first in all three disciplines at the BC provincial championship jamboree and was also best in shot put and hammer at the 2024 Canadian Youth Legion Championships."
Shallon Olsen, gymnastics: "At the 2024 Paris Olympics Surrey’s Shallon joined a small and distinguished group of international gymnasts who have qualified for an event final at three consecutive Olympics. A finalist in vault at the Rio and Tokyo Games, the Canadian team veteran also qualified for the vault final in Paris while helping the Canadian women’s team qualify for the team final, the first time in 12 years the Canadian women have made the Olympic final eight. Olsen also took gold in her specialty at both Elite Canada and the Canadian championships."
