Canadian track and field championships: 6 races to watch

By Doug Harrison

For a few seconds, Nikkita Holder's Olympic dream was over when fellow Canadian Perdita Felicien was awarded third place, despite a false start, in the women's 100-metre hurdles at the 2012 London Olympic trials in Calgary.

But Felicien lost her appeal, so Holder grabbed third spot and was bound for England, where she finished 16th among the three semifinals but didn't qualify for the eight-person final.

"I waited forever and ever to get here," Holder told reporters at the time, "and now I have to wait forever and ever again."

Well, "forever and ever" for the Pickering, Ont., hurdler has arrived at this week's Canadian track and field championships at Foote Field in Edmonton, which also serves as the Olympic trials for the Rio Games in August.

Holder, as she did at the 2012 trials, will compete against five others who have the Olympic entry standard to their name. And since a maximum of three athletes can qualify for each event at trials, there will be plenty at stake in this race.

Below, we break down the women's 100 hurdles and five other events to watch at this week's Olympic trials:

Women's 100 hurdles

Finals race time: Sunday, 5:15 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 13.00 seconds
Athletes who have met standard: Nikkita Holder (12.85), Phylicia George (12.74), Chanice Chase (12.94), Angela Whyte (12.85), Nicole Setterington (12.98) and Brianne Theisen-Eaton (12.98).

George is back after finishing sixth in the final at the 2012 London Olympics. She dipped under 13 seconds in April with a 12.96 performance. Thiesen-Eaton is coming off a third-place finish (13.40) in the event at the Harry Jerome Track Classic three weeks ago. Whyte, who was born and raised in Edmonton, is a two-time Olympian. Chase, a senior at Louisiana State University, emerged as one of the NCAA's leading dual hurdlers this year in the 100 and 400, while Setterington placed 18th in the 100 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

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Men's 100

Finals race time: Saturday, 9:50 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 10.16 seconds
Athletes who have met standard: Andre De Grasse (9.92), Aaron Brown (9.96), Gavin Smellie (10.09), Akeem Haynes (10.15), Damian Warner (10.15) and Justyn Warner (10.16).

De Grasse swept the 100 (10.32 into a head wind) and 200 (20.46) at the recent Harry Jerome Classic. Brown set a personal best of 9.96 at Florida in early June while the Jamaican-born Hayes qualified for Canada's 4x100 team at the 2012 London Olympics. Warner's 10.15, set this past spring, is a record for a decathlete, dating back to 1912.

Women's 1,500

Finals race time: Saturday, 9:10 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 4:07.00
Athletes who have met standard: Sheila Reid (4:03.96), Nicole Sifuentes (4:03.97), Fiona Benson (4:05.24), Hilary Stellingwerff (4:05.61) and Gabriela Stafford (4:06.53)

Reid was fourth at nationals last year in four minutes 24.08 seconds, nearly four seconds behind winner Sifuentes (4:20.29), but has run the fastest time this season during the qualification window. Sifuentes is a five-time medallist in the 1,500 at nationals and was 19th in London four years ago. At 4:05.24, Benson ran one of the top 1,500 times in Canada last year, while Stellingwerff hopes to return to the Olympics after missing the 1,500 final in London by one spot. This marks the first senior track nationals for Stafford, the top university women's runner in Canada.

Men's 5,000

Finals race time: Thursday, 10:05 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 13:25.00
Athletes who have met standard: Mo Ahmed (13:01.74), Matthew Hughes (13:19.56), Cam Levins (13:20.68) and Lucas Bruchet (13:24.10)

In May, Ahmed clocked 13:01.74 at the Prefontaine Classic to shatter his Canadian record of 13:10.00, set in Brussels last year. Hughes isn't racing the 5,000 at Edmonton, but is competing in the 3,000 steeplechase. Levins is the reigning 5,000 national champion while Bruchet, who recently moved up to the distance, has been running well. He finished third in 13:24.10 at the Portland Track Festival in June.

Women's 3,000 steeplechase

Finals race time: Friday, 10:15 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 9:45.00
Athletes who have met standard: Gen Lalonde (9:32.17), Jessica Furlan (9:39.20), Erin Teschuk (9:40.07), Alycia Butterworth (9:41.26) and Maria Bernard (9:44.81)

At the recent Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, Lalonde broke Furlan's 2014 record of 9:33.45 by one second, running 9:32.17. A bronze medallist at last year's Pan Am Games in 9:53.03, Lalonde ran 9:38.88 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May in California. Furlan, the co-favourite with Lalonde, finished eighth at the recent Harry Jerome meet in B.C., clocking 10:02.35. Teschuk, a track and field standout at North Dakota State University, ended her collegiate career with her seventh first-team All-America honour. Butterworth ran a personal best 9:41.26 on June 12 in Portland, 27 seconds faster than her previous PB.

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Men's 3,000 steeplechase

Finals race time: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET
Qualifying standard: 8:30.00
Athletes who have met standard: Matthew Hughes (8:18.63), Taylor Milne (8:19.90), Alex Genest (8:24.84) and Chris Winter (8:26.55)

Hughes, a gold medallist at last summer's Pan Am Games, won the 3,000 at the Payton Jordan Meet in 8:22.31 two months ago in California. Winter finished ninth in 8:31.06 at last month's Birmingham Diamond League meet in England. Genest reached the Olympic qualifying standard by .25 seconds at the Payton Jordan meet but won't compete this week due to injury. In early June, Milne ran a season-best 8:30.04 at the Golden Gala Diamond League in Rome.

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, it was mentioned that Taylor Milne would race the 100 metres. He is not a 100 runner and is only competing in the steeplechase this week. CBC Sports regrets the error.