Team Canada selected for 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships

Athletics Canada is pleased to reveal the list of 27 athletes who will represent the country at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru from August 27 to 31.

“I am extremely proud of all the Canadians who qualified for the 2024 U20 World Championships,” said head coach Carmyn James. “The qualification standards are based on marks that reflect what it has taken to place 16^th at past WA U20 Championships. So, to have 27 athletes at that level is very impressive!”

This group of 15 women and 12 men will don the Maple Leaf and contend for medals with almost 900 athletes hailing from more than 100 countries: Roxane Tedga, Savannah Blair, Keon Rude, Junior Imoukhuede, Dianna Proctor, Ashley Odiase, William Batley, Isaac Chandra, Kiara Webb, Pishon Haughton, Kyla Martin, Stephanie Bertram, John O’Reilly, Robin Lefebvre, Rachel Forsyth, Paige Marchant, Liam Smith, Justin Pretre, Arienne Birch, Tricia Madourie, Payton Serraglio, Mackenzie Hurtubise, Asia Phillips, Julia Tunks, Jake McEachern, Jackson Mackay, and Aidan Turner.

“Three of our top athletes include Ontario’s Julia Tunks and Asia Phillips, and Alberta’s Jake McEachern,” James said. “Julia is ranked 2^nd in the world in the U20 Women’s Discus and she just missed qualifying for the Paris Olympics by two spots. Asia is ranked 9^th in world in the U20 Women’s Triple Jump and Jake McEachern is ranked 11^th in the world in the U20 Men’s Hammer Throw.”

Performance on demand

Heading the World Athletics U20 Championships, the challenge for every Team Canada member is the same.

“The goal for all our team members will be to rise to the occasion on the internation stage and ‘Perform on Demand,’” James said. “That may result in placing higher in the competition than they are ranked, or it may mean placing in the top 8 or winning a medal. Each athlete will have the same objective.”

The future is now

The World Athletics U20 Championships are a proven testing ground for Canada’s next wave of track & field stars.

The team of athletes selected today may not have long to wait before joining the world’s elite.

Three members of the 2022 U20 team are currently in Paris, competing at the Olympic Games: Christopher Morales Williams, Savannah Sutherland and Olivia Lundman. Olympic and world hammer throw champion Ethan Katzberg was part of the 2021 team, while his fellow Olympic and world hammer throw champion Camryn Rogers was part of the 2018 team, along with two-time Olympian Lauren Gale.

“With the Olympic being on now, it’s just an exciting time because, if some of the athletes we’ve selected have made connections with some of their predecessors, they know what’s possible,” said team leader Molly Killingbeck. “I’m pretty excited about the team that we have. I think we have a very solid team.”

Cali 2022

Canada’s 32-athlete team generated eleven Top 10 finishes and eight personal bests at the last World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Columbia in 2023.

Team Canada saved its greatest highlight for last: a bronze medal performance in the men’s the 4x400m relay team, consisting of Christopher Morales Williams, Daniel Kidd, Ben Tilson and Will Floyd.

Meet Team Canada

Name	Event(s)	Hometown	Club	Coach First	Branch
Roxane Tedga	Women’s 100m	Longueuil	Athlétisme Rive Sud	Fabrice Akué	QC
Savannah Blair	Women’s 100m	Ajax	The Speed Academy	Tony Sharpe	ON
Keon Rude	Men’s 100m/110mH	Calgary	Calgary International Track Club	John Cannon	AB
Junior Imoukhuede	Men’s 100m	Calgary, AB	Calgary International Track Club	Lyndsey Clapperton	AB
Dianna Proctor	Women’s 200m/400m	Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Royals Track and Field Club	Dwayne VanStraten	AB
Ashley Odiase	Women’s 200m	Calgary, AB	Calgary International Track Club	Lyndsey Clapperton	AB
William Batley	Men’s 200m	Ottawa, ON	C.A.N.I. Athletics	Lyndon George	ON
Isaac Chandra	Men’s 200m	Peterborough, ON	Flying Angels	Earl Letford	ON
Kiara Webb	Women’s 400m	Brampton, ON	The Speed Academy	Tony Sharpe	ON
Pishon Haughton	Men’s 400m	Kelowna, BC	Okanagan Athletics Club	Pat Sima-Ledding	BC
Kyla Martin	Women’s 800m	Barrie, ON	South Simcoe Dufferin	Bob Greig	ON
Stephanie Bertram	Women’s 800m	Toronto, ON	University of Toronto Track Club	Ethan Davenport	ON
John O’Reilly	Men’s 800m	Toronto, ON	University of Michigan	Kevin Sullivan	ON
Robin Lefebvre	Men’s 800m	Montréal, QC	Vainqueurs Plus	Achraf Tadili	QC
Rachel Forsyth	Women’s 1500 Metres	Ann Arbor, MI	London Western Track and Field Club	Ian Forsyth	ON
Paige Marchant	Women’s 1500 Metres	London, ON	London Western Track and Field Club	Dave Mills	ON
Liam Smith	Men’s 1500m	London. ON	London Western Track and Field Club	Dave Mills	ON
Justin Pretre	Men’s 1500m	Woodside, CA	Unattached	Bobby Lockhart	ON
Arienne Birch	Women’s High Jump	Mississauga, ON	Unattached	Julianne	ON
Tricia Madourie	Women’s High Jump	Red Deer, AB	Red Deer Titans	Max Birch	AB
Payton Serraglio	Women’s Pole Vault	London, ON	London Western Track and Field Club	Dave Collins	ON
Mackenzie Hurtubise	Women’s Pole Vault	Langley, BC	Langley Mustangs	Jamie Sinclair	BC
Asia Phillips	Women’s Triple Jump	North York, ON	Flying Angles Track and Field Academy	Paul Johnson	ON
Julia Tunks	Women’s Discus Throw / Shot Put	London, ON	London Western Track and Field Club	Jason Tunks	ON
Jake McEachern	Men’s Hammer Throw	Lloydminster, AB	Split City Sonics	Karl Meissner	AB
Jackson Mackay	Men’s Decathlon	London, ON	London Western Track and Field Club	Liz House	ON
Aidan Turner	Men’s Decathlon	Delta, BC	Kajaks	Michaela Colluney	BC

Media Contact:

Riley Denver
Communications Consultant
Riley.Denver.2023@athletics.ca
905-517-4179