Canada’s men’s 4×100 metre relay team shouldn’t have been underdogs.
The foursome of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse stepped onto the track tonight with a combined 11 Olympic medals to their names. They were the 2022 world champions in the event.
But they were underdogs.
Having the slowest qualifying time of the eight teams in the final made them an underdog. The Americans were stacked. South Africa was flying. Great Britain were on a redemption tour, after being disqualified in Tokyo. Italy was trying to defend their Olympic title.
These four Canadians showed the world. This team, who always say they are like brothers, won gold.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the story. When you win Canada’s first Olympic relay gold since 1996, we’re going to break things down, leg by leg.
Aaron Brown had a superb turn to get the team started. He gained ground on the competition and handed off to Jerome Blake in a good spot.
“I tried to warn them. They didn’t believe though,” Brown said about the doubters among their competition. “I never stopped believing. These guys can do incredible things when we get together and put our mind to it. We showed today: never count us out no matter what lane. It doesn’t matter what lane we get. We can be in two, we can be in nine, we can be in the stands. It doesn’t matter. Give us a lane, give us an opportunity, and these guys can make magic together.”
Blake powered down the back straight. When it came time to handoff to Brendon Rodney, he hit his teammate smoothly in stride.
“We knew if we come out here, we’re in lane nine, we’d be out there by ourselves. We just needed to trust each other and just focus on getting off the mark properly. I know if we did that we’ll be fine,” Blake said. “The minute Andre crossed the line and our name flashed first, I waited a couple seconds. I couldn’t believe it. I was on the ground just laying down in the water. It was just such a surreal moment. It’s something I wanted to feel from Tokyo, but it never happened.”
Rodney took that baton on a very quick ride around the bend. Canada was starting to inch ahead of the field, as Rodney got stronger and stronger.
“It’s a great feeling. We’ve been practicing for this. Yesterday we didn’t have the greatest semi-final, but I think it was just destined to be that we got lane nine. We just ran our own race and that was the best thing about it.
De Grasse started to run home in good position, but with lots of challengers within striking distance. Known for his acceleration late in races, De Grasse found another gear, crossing the line first, and starting the celebration.
“The guys did most of the work. I just came out there and just tried to do my best for the team and just try to bring it home as best I could. It was a special moment. It’s going to be a moment that we all remember for the rest of our lives,” De Grasse said.
For De Grasse, the moment he crossed the line in first place, he tied Penny Oleksiak as Canada’s most decorated Olympian. De Grasse and Oleksiak are the only Canadians to earn seven Olympic medals.
Track is usually an individual sport. The relays are really the only instance where on-track teamwork comes into play. The handoffs from one teammate to the next were the difference tonight – the benefit of such a close-knit team, with the luxury of racing together as a unit for years.
The athletics team in Paris really is a team. The women’s 4×100 metre relay team stayed trackside to cheer on the men after their race and they joined the celebration on the track after the golden run.
This team vibe extends into the past members of Canada’s track & field team. Head coach Glenroy Gilbert was part of that Hall of Fame 1996 Olympic champion team, as was Canadian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Bruny Surin.
Both were in the house Friday night, witnessing the coronation of their championship successors.
“When I started this job, my goal was to get a team to win the Olympics. We won the Olympics in 1996. I wanted to coach a squad that would do the exact same thing that we did and these guys did it tonight,” Gilbert said. “They surprised even me. I thought they’re definitely in for a medal if they do their own thing. I didn’t really expect that they would win. I knew they were capable of winning. They believe in what they can do together and they showed us tonight.”
Champions forever. Brothers for life. Underdogs no more.
Women’s Relay Team Proves Their Worth
In the women’s 4×100 metre final, the Canadian squad of Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Eloïse Leclair and Audrey Leduc represented Canada with pride, fighting to a 6th place finish in a loaded race.
“I think we proved to everyone that we deserve a spot on the world stage. It was a great experience. This is all of us our first Olympic. We’re just building the program back and the sky’s the limit for us. We’ve gone from the bottom of the bottom to being in the Olympic final,” Madogo said.
Disappointment for Mitton
Sarah Mitton came into the women’s shot put final on a roll. The reigning world indoor champion and world silver medallist outdoors had the longest throw in the qualifying round.
It wasn’t to be in Paris, as Mitton could not advance to the final eight competitors in the women’s final. Her best throw was 17.48 metres, good for 12th place. Her third and final throw travelled close to 20 metres, which could have put her in the lead, but Mitton scratched, negating the throw.
“That obviously wasn’t what I came here to do. I went in with the world at my fingertips and I let it slip through the cracks,” Mitton said. “Mentally I felt very confident and controlled. Even with my coach, we said it’s close, it feels good. Just something’s not clicking. On the third round, I was able to regain that feeling and regain that control, and just ended up falling out of the front of the circle. I just ran, ran out of throws. It hurts because I knew it was very much within my wheelhouse and I wanted to win a medal for Canada and for myself. But unfortunately that’s not in the cards this year.”
Arop Cruises Into the Final
Reigning world 800 metre champion Marco Arop sent a message in his semi-final Friday morning.
He spent the first 300 metres biding his time towards the back of the pack, then spent the next 400 metres holding his position in 2nd place. With the final straight approaching, Arop found another gear, pulling ahead and creating enough of a gap to comfortably win the heat in a time of 1:45.05.
“There were a few chances that opened up, but I wanted to make sure I saved the move for last when I needed it most, and I think it worked out well,” Arop said. “Staying composed really helps – staying relaxed. It might look really easy, but I promise that’s the part of the trick – just trying to make it look as easy as possible.”
Arop runs for the medals tomorrow night.
Women’s 4×400 Metre Team Ready to Race for the Medals
Canada will have a third relay team in an Olympic final this year, with the foursome of Zoe Sherar, Aiyanna Stiverne, Lauren Gale and Kyra Constantine earned a spot in the women’s 4×400 metre final, finishing 4th in their heat with a time of 3:52.77.
“We put out the best we could on the track. I’m really proud of the girls. We’re always this close to the podium,” Stiverne said. “Kyra and I had to get our legs warmed up a little bit, since we haven’t been on the track yet, but I’m excited for tomorrow.”
“I like when the crowd is big. I really like big crowds. I don’t know … it just gets me excited,” Constantine said.
“I got stuck a little bit on the corner when I would normally run a little faster, but that meant that I had a bit more at the end on the home stretch. Overall, I’m happy with the race and excited for tomorrow,” Gale said.
“Stepping on the line with those other women gives us confidence. It was good to deliver on the day and get into that final,” Sherar said.
The final goes tomorrow night at the Stade de Paris.
Abdul-Rashid Sets a New PB in Hurdles Semi
Mariam Abdul-Rashid established a new personal best time in her women’s 100 metre hurdle semi-final.
Abdul-Rashid stopped the clock in a time of 12.60 seconds, good for 5th in her semi-final, but she did not advance to tomorrow’s event final.
“Thanks everyone for watching. I really appreciate that a lot. The support during this whole process has been beautiful. Honestly, there’s no other word for it,” Abdul-Rashid said. “It sucks that my best is not good enough to make a final, but that’s just this year. I’ll be back.”
Tomorrow at Paris 2024
It’s a light schedule with an early start on the penultimate day of competition in Paris.
Cam Levins and Rory Linkletter explore the streets of Paris in the men’s marathon. Set your alarm – the gun goes off at 2 a.m. ET.
Once evening comes, so does the men’s 800 metre final where Marco Arop runs for a shot at his first Olympic medal.
The track portion of Canada’s 2024 Olympic athletics team wraps up later in the evening, with the women’s 4×400 metre relay team potentially building off the relay momentum established today.
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