Star-studded Canadian athletics team announced for Paris 2024 Olympics
48 athletes will wear the maple leaf in Paris.
Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced the roster of 48 athletes that will compete in athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday. Of those 48, 22 have competed at the Olympics before, while 26 are making their Olympic debuts.
Several athletes booked their tickets to Paris at last week’s Bell Track & Field Trials in Montreal, while others qualified based on the accumulation of World Athletics Ranking points with strong performances at competitions around the world.
After an impressive Olympic cycle, the large Canadian contingent in Paris will look to build on arguably Canada’s best showing in Olympic athletics three years ago in Tokyo. At those Games Canada won six medals, two of them gold, a number that can certainly be raised if everyone is at their best.
Six-time Olympic medallist and reigning 200m champion Andre De Grasse leads an incredibly strong track team into Paris. Canada’s most decorated male summer Olympian, De Grasse has picked up a medal in every event he’s competed in on the Olympic stage — and will compete in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay events once again this summer.
“I’ll just use my experience to my advantage,” De Grasse said in a press release. “I know what to expect. I know what I have to do. Every Olympic Games are different, but from my first one, then a pandemic in my second one, I’m just going to go out there, remain focused, and remember all the things that got me there.
“My advice to everyone going to their first Olympics is to enjoy the moment, have fun, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just remember that your family, your friends, everyone is rooting for you and supporting you. Use that as your momentum to get through the Games.”
Overall, Canada’s track athletes for Paris 2024 boast resume that includes a combined 15 Olympic medals and 36 World Athletics Championships or World Athletics Relays medals.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Marco Arop became the first Canadian world champion in the men’s 800m event, and will be attending his second Olympic Games. Tokyo 2020 5000m silver medallist Mohammed Ahmed is going to his fourth Olympic Games, while everyone from the Tokyo 2020 silver medal-winning men’s 4x100 relay team — Jerome Blake, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney and De Grasse — will be returning for another crack at the podium as well.
That same quartet also won a shock gold medal in the event at the 2022 worlds, their first at a major event since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Also in the relays, the women’s 4x400m team will be one to watch after finishing fourth at Tokyo 2020, as well as at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Audrey Leduc has had a breakout season in 2024, setting Canadian records in both the women’s 100m and 200m events, as well as being part of the 4x100m relay team that booked Canada’s spot at Paris 2024 at the 2024 World Athletics Relays.
“I did not see this coming,” admitted Leduc in a press release. “I was hoping to qualify for the relay and the 100 metres via the World Ranking, but I didn’t expect the 200 metres too. I’ve done the Quebec Games and the Canada Games, and the Olympic Games is just the big thing, every four years.
“I’m just excited to get there, represent Canada as best I can, and run fast. On the track side, I want to qualify for the finals. On the personal side, I want to collect as many pins as I can!”
Christopher Morales-Williams also had a breakout year, with the 19-year-old owning the fastest time in the world this year in the men’s 400m, and breaking the long-standing Canadian record in May.
In the field, Canada has emerged as a powerhouse in hammer throw, with Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg winning the women’s and men’s gold medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, respectively. Rogers is also the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, while Katzberg won gold at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, and earlier this year had the longest hammer throw by anyone since 2008.
Sarah Mitton also won a silver medal at the 2023 worlds in women’s shot put, before winning the gold medal at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.
“Tokyo was just my second senior team and it was a learning experience in every regard,” said Rogers in a press release. “A lot has changed in a good way. We’ve grown so much as a team. To know that I will be able to look out into the stands and see so many people that I hold near and dear to my heart is going to be amazing. Having all that love and support coming in, I couldn’t be more excited. We’re going to Paris to throw really far and fight to the very end.”
“We’re focusing on the training now – keeping our heads down, staying focused and hoping for a good outcome in Paris,” added Katzberg. “It’s exciting. Having Camryn up there, as well, is incredible timing. Seeing us continue to grow and improve helps keep me going.”
Canada’s best event might be the decathlon, where Canada boasts arguably the two best athletes in the sport — reigning Olympic champion Damian Warner and reigning world champion Pierce LePage. At the 2023 World Championships, Warner finished in second place behind LePage. LePage missed last week’s national trials with an injury, but had already booked his spot and received a medical exemption.
After setting a new Olympic record in the event at Tokyo 2020, Warner was selected as Team Canada’s closing ceremony flag bearer.
“To go back to the Olympics for a fourth time is a privilege,” said Warner in a press release. “Not everyone gets to do that, so I don’t take it lightly. I feel like I’m in great shape and ready to go. I’m looking forward to getting back there and defending my title.
“We have such a strong team. To me, one of the coolest things is that we have athletes in so many different sports. The team is awesome. It’s so well-rounded and I’m excited to get out there and represent alongside them.”
Several marathon runners and race walkers were previously nominated to the team back in May.
Athletics is Canada’s most successful Olympic sport ever in terms of gold and total medals won, with the country winning 66 medals since the nation made its Olympic debut in Paris in 1900.
Athletics will take centre-stage in Paris in the second week of the Games, from August 1-11 — days seven through sixteen of the Games.
Full Canadian athletics team for Paris 2024:
Mariam Abdul-Rashid (Oshawa, Ont.)
Eliezer Adjibi (Ottawa, Ont.)
Mohammed Ahmed (St. Catharines, Ont.)
Marco Arop (Edmonton, Alta.)
Duan Asemota (Ajax, Ont.)
Jerome Blake (Kelowna, B.C.)
Aaron Brown (Toronto, Ont.)
Kyra Constantine (Toronto, Ont.)
Andre De Grasse (Markham, Ont.)
Jean-Simon Desgagnés (Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que.)
Evan Dunfee (Richmond, B.C.)
Malindi Elmore (Kelowna, B.C.)
Crystal Emmanuel-Ahye (Toronto, Ont.)
Thomas Fafard (Repentigny, Que.)
Ben Flanagan (Kitchener, Ont.)
Lauren Gale (Ottawa, Ont.)
Rowan Hamilton (Chilliwack, B.C.)
Michelle Harrison (Saskatoon, Sask.)
Ethan Katzberg (Nanaimo, B.C.)
Adam Keenan (Victoria, B.C.)
Marie-Éloïse Leclair (Montreal, Que.)
Audrey Leduc (Gatineau, Que.)
Pierce LePage (Whitby, Ont.)
Cameron Levins (Black Creek, B.C.)
Rory Linkletter (Calgary, Alta.)
Kieran Lumb (Vancouver, B.C.)
Olivia Lundman (Lantzville, B.C.)
Jacqueline Madogo (Ottawa, Ont.)
Ceili McCabe (Vancouver, B.C)
Sade McCreath (Ajax, Ont.)
Sarah Mitton (Brooklyn, N.S.)
Christopher Morales Williams (Maple, Ont.)
Malachi Murray (Edmonton, Alta.)
Anicka Newell (Saskatoon, Sask.)
Alysha Newman (Delaware, Ont.)
Jasneet Nijjar (Surrey, B.C.)
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (Québec, Que.)
Simone Plourde (Montreal, Que.)
Madeline Price (Toronto, Ont.)
Brendon Rodney (Etobicoke, Ont.)
Camryn Rogers (Richmond, B.C.)
Zoe Sherar (Toronto, Ont.)
Jazz Shukla (Toronto, Ont.)
Lucia Stafford (Toronto, Ont.)
Aiyanna Stiverne (Laval, Que.)
Savannah Sutherland (Borden, Sask.)
Damian Warner (London, Ont.)
Regan Yee (Vancouver, B.C.)
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