Canadian men’s 4 x 100m relay team receive upgraded silver medals from Tokyo 2020
The medal was upgraded from bronze to silver after Great Britain's disqualification.
The Canadian men’s 4 x 100m relay team from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games received their upgraded silver medals in Langley, BC on Saturday night, at a medal reallocation ceremony during the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships.
Canada’s team — made up of Jerome Blake, Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, and Brendon Rodney — were upgraded from bronze to silver after Team GB’s CJ Ujah tested positive for banned substances, and the silver medalists were disqualified.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in February 2022 that Ujah committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, which disqualified all of his results from Tokyo, including his entire team from the relay event. Ujah didn’t challenge the ruling, and the medal reallocation process began. That process ended in Langley on Saturday, as Canada received their medals in front of a home crowd at their national championships.
Canada finished third in Tokyo in 37.70 seconds, 0.19 seconds back of Great Britain and 0.2 seconds back of the Olympic champions from Italy. China, who finished 0.09 seconds back of Canada in fourth place, have been upgraded to bronze as well as a result of the doping infraction.
Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith presented the Canadian athletes with their medals, and Bruny Surin — an Olympic gold medallist in the 4x100m relay at Atlanta 1996 and Canada’s chef de mission for Paris 2024 — presented each athlete with flowers.
In Tokyo, there were no fans or loved ones in the stands to celebrate with them, so having a ceremony on home soil was extra special for the athletes.
“Bronze was beautiful but silver is even better,” said Brown. “This recognition helps us relive that special Olympic moment from two years ago, but in front of our family and friends this time.”
“A truly special day to see this extraordinary team appropriately recognized, and even more special to have it in front of a home crowd,” added Smith. “Congratulations to Aaron, Jerome, Brendon and Andre who are such great ambassadors for our country, and for sport.”
It is the first Olympic medal of Blake’s career, and a second for Brown and Rodney after being part of the relay team for Canada at Rio 2016 that took bronze in the same event. De Grasse was part of that team as well, and has six medals in his Olympic career — two of them now silver to go with a gold and three bronze — and is tied for second place on the all-time list of the most decorated Canadian Olympians.
The team now has their sights set on Paris next summer, where they will be looking to add a 4 x 100 gold in order to complete the full set.
“To now be awarded a silver medal for my first Olympic Games experience is a proud moment for me,” said Blake. It would be amazing to continue my Olympic journey with a gold in Paris next summer.”
“The silver medal is just a display of our hard work and sacrifices throughout the years,” added Rodney. “We are grateful for it and we are looking to Paris to add Olympic gold to our collections.”
Canada’s final medal tally from Tokyo is now seven gold, seven silver and ten bronze for a total of 24 medals — good for eleventh overall in the medal table.
A similar process is pending for the Canadian figure skaters, who finished fourth in the team event at Beijing 2022, but are due to be upgraded to a bronze medal. Russian skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for banned substances in the leadup to the Games, and the medal ceremony for that event was postponed, and has still never happened a year-and-a-half later.
A hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will take place in September to try and resolve that case.
As usual, good stuff about things that don't get well reported on.
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