Background
Balkwill was born in Leamington, Ontario, the daughter of Todd and Kim Balkwill.
Balkwill was born in Leamington, Ontario, the daughter of Todd and Kim Balkwill.
She is a silver medallist from the Pan American Junior Championships and a finalist from the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. She currently attends the University of Miami. At the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Moncton, Balkwill ran a personal best time of 59.04 in the semi-final in order to qualify for the final.
She went on to place 6th in final of the 400m hurdles in a personal best time of 57.94 which was also an Ontario provincial Junior-U19 record for the event.
At the 2011 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Miramar, Florida, Balkwill finished 4th in the 400m hurdles in a time of 59.21 after a 7 week layoff due to an ankle injury. In 2012 as a freshman at the University of Miami she sustained a navicular fracture to her foot, which required surgery and forced her to end her outdoor season prematurely.
After a 1 year hiatus from competitive competition, Balkwill returned to the track as a redshirt freshman to post a time of 54.63 in the 400m at the Georgia Technical Invitational on May 10, 2013. In July 2015 she competed at the 2015 Summer Universiade narrowly missing the final.
She is also a member of the very successful Windsor, Ontario track & field community known for other international track and field athletes": O"Brian Gibbons, Mike Nolan, Scott Russell, Bradley Snyder, Jamie Adjetey-Nelson, Jordan Young, Brandon McBride and Melissa Bishop.