Hammer thrower Rogers, runner DeBues-Stafford victorious for Canada at Paavo Nurmi Games
Teammate Jerome Blake 2nd in men's 100m while Audrey Leduc 4th in women's final
Canadians grabbed a share of the track and field spotlight Tuesday, with hammer thrower Camryn Rogers and middle-distance runner Gabriela DeBues-Stafford winning their competitions at the 68th Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
Rogers, the reigning world and Olympic champion, wasn't at her best but victorious with a throw of 74.59 metres on the fifth of her six attempts. She also fouled three times.
"I feel good. There is still some technical [adjustments] to work on from today," Rogers said.
"The Paavo Nurmi Games is one of my favourite meets. I love to compete here, the crowd is crazy, they are so passionate and everyone loves hammer. So coming here is a huge privilege."
Hometown favourite Silja Kosonen was second (73.21) at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet.
"Silja and [Finnish teammate] Krista [Tervo who was ninth Tuesday] are amazing. It is always so much fun to compete with both of them," said Rogers.
"It's such a special time to be a hammer thrower, especially for women. I mean, we have many of the top 10 of all-time competing now and they are so supportive. We are a very close community."
WATCH | Rogers captures her 3rd of 4 hammer throw wins this season:
Rogers will stay in Finland and compete at the 86th Kuortane Games on Saturday before returning home to prepare for the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League event on July 5 in Eugene, Ore.
The 26-year-old has a best throw of 78.14 this season and 78.62 personal best, a Canadian record.
Won Olympic gold last August in Paris
The Richmond, B.C., native has won two of her other three events this season and was second at the Trond Mohn Games on June 3 in Norway.
Rogers won an Olympic gold medal last Aug. 6 in Paris and captured her first world championship title in 2023. The only Canadian woman to medal at the event in hammer throw also earned 2022 silver.
DeBues-Stafford, 29, has regained her winning form early in the outdoor campaign following three injury-marred seasons.
The Toronto native captured the women's 1,500 metres in Finland for her second straight win in the distance to start the season.
DeBues-Stafford reached the finish line in four minutes two seconds, her fastest race in over three years since going 3:58.62 at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meet on May 28, 2022. She fell just shy of the 4:01.50 automatic qualifying standard for the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
"Last year, things were going poorly and I did not think I'd be running like this again," DeBues-Stafford said after Tuesday's race, in a text message to CBC Sports. "However, since February or so, everything has been clicking in training and I have had no setbacks. Workouts keep getting better so I am not surprised.
Planning to race 1,500m and 5,000m at worlds
"I think there is more time [to be shaved] in the future."
DeBues-Stafford will try to lower her time on Sunday at the Troyes International Athletics Meeting in Aube, France.
"That will be the real test," she said of racing three times in two weeks. "I am aiming to double in the 1,500 and 5,000 [at worlds] so being able to race back-to-back in a tight schedule is obviously crucial."
On Tuesday, DeBues-Stafford took nearly two seconds off her 4:03.81 effort from three weeks ago in Belgium. She had a 2024 season best of 4:15.09.
On June 7, DeBues-Stafford met the 14:50 world standard in the 5,000, going 14:47.83 at the FAST5000 competition in Maisons-Laffitte, France. She has only recently switched to training for the 1,500 and is confident there will be further progress.
"I am feeling much more smooth and in control this year. I can go out fast and not feel like I am sprinting," DeBues-Stafford said.
"At this point in the year, it is about keeping the overall training volume at a good level while continuing to chip away at the 1,500 pace work and making sure I am in peak shape for Tokyo. The last think you want with a late [world] championship is burnout running your best time three months before it begins."
WATCH | Full replay coverage of Paavo Nurmi Games from Turku:
Hampered by injuries
DeBues-Stafford entered this season having spent much of the past three years dealing with stress fractures and troubles with her sacroiliac (SI) joint, which link the pelvis and lower spine.
DeBues-Stafford, who was fifth in the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo, is also scheduled to race the 1,500 on July 4 at the Stanislas Nancy competition in Tomblaine, France.
In the women's 100 on Tuesday, Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., placed fourth in 11.16 seconds, 5-100ths of a second faster than her heat performance.
New Zealand's Zoe Hobbs, who topped all runners in the heats with an 11.09 clocking, went 11.07 to capture the final over Hungary's Boglárka Takács (11.11).
Leduc, 26, ran a Canadian record 10.95 to win her Olympic heat last summer before helping Canada's women's 100m relay team to a world championship berth last month at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China.
WATCH | Leduc 4th in women's 100m, 9-100ths of a second behind winner Hobbs:
In the men's 100 final, Jerome Blake of Kelowna delivered a 10.09 SB for second in his fourth race of the season, while fellow Canadian Andre De Grasse was sixth (10.23).
Blake, 29, won the first of two heats in 10.19 over South Africa's Benji Richardson, who was second in the final in 10.09, 1-100th behind Romell Glave of Great Britain.
Blake was a member of the Canadian men's 100m relay squad, along with De Grasse, that won 2024 Olympic gold.
WATCH | Blake runs season-best 10.18 seconds in men's 100m at Paavo Nurmi Games:
Other Canadian results:
- Quebec's Jean-Simon Desgagnés was fifth in the men's 3,000m steeplechase. Racing for the third time in nine days, his eight-minute 14.40-second showing is a season best and a little over one second shy of his 8:13.11 SB last year. Germany's Frederik Ruppert won in 8:10.39. Desgagnés, a native of Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges competed at his first Olympics in 2024, finishing 13th in the steeplechase final.
- Thomas Fafard of Repentigny, Que., was seventh of 15 finishers in the men's 5,000m, stopping the clock in 13 minutes 18.74 seconds for a season best. Belgium's John Heymans was victorious in 13:03.87, also a SB. This was Fafard's second attempt at the 13:01 automatic qualifying standard for the world championships. The 2024 Olympian 13:55.85 on May 24 in Los Angeles.
- Quebec City's Charles-Philibert-Thiboutot, the other member of Canadian track's "Three Musketeers" with Desgagnés and Fafard, finished 12th of 13 finishers in the men's 1,500 in 3:38.17. Ermiyas Girma of Ethiopia prevailed in a 3.33.49 PB. Philibert-Thiboutot is still seeking the 3:33 world standard (his PB is 3:32.94) but is top Canadian in the world rankings quota at 43 among the 56 to be selected.
For more information on athletics events streaming live on CBC Sports this season, click here to see the full broadcast schedule.
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
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