A Winnipeg teen sped past competitors to earn Team Manitoba's first gold medal of the Canada Summer Games on Thursday.

Victoria Tachinski, 18, won the female 400-metre final Thursday afternoon at the University of Manitoba Stadium with a time of 54.04 seconds. She secured Manitoba's seventh medal — one of five on Thursday alone — and first gold for the province so far in the Games.

Tachinski went into the Games fresh out of the Pan American Under 20 Championships in Peru, where she earned a gold medal in the 800-metre race and silver in the 4x400-metre relay.

Last week, Team Manitoba chef de mission Barry Moroz highlighed Tachinski as a Manitoban to watch in the Games.

Tachinski has loved running since childhood, she told CBC News last week.

"I didn't want to go outside, I just wanted to sit inside and I wanted to watch track and field. My parents just thought it was crazy," she said.

"I told them, I'm going to run for Canada. And they were like, 'OK,' like, 'If that's what you want, sweetie.' And now that it's actually happening, it's pretty crazy."

Tachinski will also represent Manitoba in the 800-metre race and 4x400-metre relay. Both races are on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. respectively.