Saturday night's World Track and Field Relays in Nassau, Bahamas was a memorable night for Canada's sprinters under the bright lights of Thomas A. Robinson Stadium.
With everything on the line for an Olympic berth, Canada's track stars had their moment, with three different teams qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
The first breakthrough moment of the night came from the Canadian women's 4x100m relay team.
Canada had never qualified for a team in this event since the 2016 Olympics, but that all changed Saturday night.
Thad McCreese, Marie-Héloise Leclerc, Audrey LeDuc and Crystal Emmanuel put on a great race to push China into second place with a time of 42.98 seconds and qualify for the Olympics. The top two teams from each heat on Saturday night earned direct tickets to Paris.
The top two teams also advanced to Sunday night's finals, where they competed for prize money and medals.
“I think my heart stopped for a second, and I just realized, oh my god, we did it. We worked together to make it happen,” McCreath said. Told.
At the finish line, it was a joyous sight as Canadian women raced to celebrate, jumping in the air and hugging each other.
“It's just amazing. I don't have words to describe it. When I handed Crystal the stick, I just yelled, 'Go girl!' It's just amazing,” LeDuc said.
Just a few weeks ago, Leduc broke the national record in the 100 meters. Her time of 10.18 seconds was the fastest Canadian time of the night. Emmanuel then charged to the finish line to secure an Olympic spot.
“I'm a long-time veteran, so I just wanted to help get these girls to the Olympics,” said Emmanuel, who was a member of the 2016 Olympic team.
“We are thrilled to announce to Canada that our women's 4x100m relay team will be competing in the Olympics.”
world champions reunite
Immediately after the thrilling women's race, Canada's men's 4×100 meter relay team took to the track in front of a raucous and enthusiastic crowd. Throughout the night they waved Bahamian flags, shouted and cheered on the sprinters.
The Canadian quartet of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre de Grasse had not raced together since winning gold at the world championships in 2022, but the We met again for this purpose and did not miss a step.
Brown jumped out of the blocks with the Heat's fastest opener. A break then extended Canada's lead. Rodney ran around the corner and handed the baton to de Grasse as he left the competition.
Canada overcame the heat and won without a doubt with a time of 38.11 seconds. As de Grasse crossed the finish line, he waved to the organizers who high-fived him on the track.
“I'm so grateful. It's my third Olympics. It's a dream come true. It feels really good just to be here with these guys and do it all over again. And we're going for the gold medal.” de Grasse said.
They will advance to Sunday night's final and will likely face off against the American, who posted the fastest time of the night at 37.49 seconds.
“They're going to be our biggest competition. We've always had a rivalry and we're looking forward to competing again like we did in Oregon,” said DeGrasse at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He spoke while referring to the victory over the Americans in the US. In 2022.
Now it's time for the women's 4×400 meter relay team to try to follow the success of the previous two Canadian teams and earn a spot at the Olympics.
And they did not disappoint.
Zoe Scherer, Aiyanna Stiverne, Kayla Constatine and Alyssa Marsh gave their all as a team, finishing in second place with a time of 3:27.17 and qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
“It's great. We have a really good team in the women's 4×400 meters right now. We came here to get the job done and we got it done,” Zehar said.
Constantine was part of the Canadian team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and is currently preparing to return to the Olympics.
“One more thing. I'm excited. This moment is really special. And this team is special. It's just fun. I love running with them,” she said.
Five events were contested on Saturday night. Canada failed to qualify for the Olympics in the mixed 4x400m relay and men's 4x400m relay.
Both teams will have one final chance to qualify in a repechage game on Sunday night. Canada needs to finish in the top two in the heat again to qualify for the Olympics.
“Our 4×400 is in Paris, I promise you that,” said Miles Meisner Daly, who ran the anchor leg for the Canadian men's team.