The next generation: 5 Canadian sprinters to watch at Paris Olympics and beyond

For the last decade, Andre De Grasse has been the face of Canadian track.

Going into the Paris Olympics, De Grasse — one of two athletes chosen to carry Canada's flag at the opening ceremony — has six Olympic medals, reaching the podium in every event he entered in Rio and Tokyo.

In 2016, De Grasse was the first Canadian sprinter to medal in the 100 metres since Donovan Bailey's gold-medal performance in Atlanta two decades before. Then, he became the 200-metre Olympic champion in Tokyo, the first time a Canadian man or woman has won that distance since Percy Williams did it in 1928.

Behind De Grasse, there's a new generation of sprinting talent heading to Paris, ready to show Canada what they've got.

As athletics begin on Thursday, Aug. 1 at the Olympics, here are five up-and-coming sprinters to watch in Paris and beyond:

Audrey Leduc

It's been a year to remember for Leduc.

She earned the title of fastest woman in Canada in April when she set a new 100-metre record. Leduc registered a time of 10.96 seconds, which broke the 10.98 record set by the late Angela Bailey in 1987.

A couple weeks later, Leduc powered the 4x100m women's relay team to a spot in Paris, the first time the women's team has qualified for the Olympics since Rio. Leduc ran the third leg in a blistering 10.18.

The 25-year-old from Gatineau, Que. is set to compete in both events in her first Olympic Games, plus the 200 metres. Leduc also owns the Canadian record in that distance (22.36).

"I've seen her go through different obstacles and still overcome them with so much grace, and just so much determination," relay teammate Sade McCreath said about Leduc.

Both came into the national team program around the same time and have been roommates at every camp and competition.

"To see her finally get to where she wanted to be, I'm incredibly proud of her and she's so deserving of it because she works really hard," McCreath said.

Christopher Morales Williams

Vaughan, Ont.'s Morales Williams will compete at his first Olympics after a breakout season.

He set a Canadian record in the 400m in May at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, clocking at 44.05. To put that in perspective, Morales Williams ran 0.03 seconds faster than the silver medallist at the Olympics in Tokyo (44.08).

Morales Williams was also named a finalist for the NCAA's Bowerman Award, given to the top male and female track and field athletes annually, and turned professional after his collegiate season ended.

"Every month, the guy does something that just gets me off the couch and jumping up and down," Morales Williams' coach, Tony Sharpe with the Speed Academy Athletics Club, told CBC Sports. 

"Christopher is the complete package. His commitment to getting better every day is something that stands out."

WATCH | Christopher Morales Williams' journey to the Olympics:

For the Family: Christopher Morales Williams' journey to the Olympics

4 months ago

Duration 12:07

After the death of his mom when he was just 15-months-old, Christopher Morales Williams' family rallied around him, now the 19-year-old Canadian sprinter is heading to Paris looking to give back to the people who raised him.

Morales Williams, who turns 20 on Aug. 5, will compete in the 400m in Paris. In his pro debut at a Diamond League meet in Monaco in mid-July, he finished sixth. He finished in the same place at another stop in London a week later.

But Morales Williams' pro career is just getting started, and the future looks bright.

"I think I could be the best of all time," he said. "I think I could break the world record outdoors."

Malachi Murray

When Murray was in Grade 10, his mother found a crumpled permission slip for a track and field competition at the bottom of his backpack.

After quitting soccer, Murray didn't have much interest in taking up track. But his mother, Elaine, encouraged him to get into the sport. She went to the school and marched into the principal's office to ask if it was too late for Malachi to submit his permission slip.

Almost a decade after that first field trip, Murray finds himself headed to the Paris Olympics. He filmed himself delivering the news to his mother, a moment he described as "surreal."

"She's put just as much into me as I have into the sport," Murray told CBC Sports.

Murray owns the second-fastest time in Canada this year, a 10.01 clocked in Baton Rouge, La. in April. 

That stood as the top mark in the country until De Grasse ran a 10.00 in Finland in June.

"I believe the nine-second run is there," Murray told CBC Sports before heading to Paris. "I believe there will be multiple of them. I'm just not sure when."

The 24-year-old from Edmonton took an unconventional path to the national team. He didn't compete in the NCAA, nor does he train in a track hub.

But Murray has been getting better each year, biding his time for a chance behind Canada's sprint superstars.

"It's been a tough go to get our foot in there," Murray said. "They have their core guys who've won medals for Team Canada before, right? And so the time is coming. We're just unsure if it's now."

Murray won't compete in any individual races in Paris, but will be available to the 4x100m team.

"He's hungry and he's fearless," said relay team veteran Brendon Rodney.

Eliezer Adjibi

Adjibi filled in on the 4x100m relay team at a Diamond League meet in London last month before the team headed to pre-Olympic training.

Adjibi and Duan Asemota joined relay-regulars Rodney and Jerome Blake to put together a fourth-place finish in London.

The 23-year-old from Ottawa has the fourth-fastest time among the country's male sprinters this year, having run a 10.04 in Guelph, Ont., in June. Asemota sits one spot ahead of him with a 10.03 run in May.

Rodney said he was impressed by how the team's younger sprinters have performed in an Olympic year, often pacing the veterans on the relay team.

"For them, it's just getting the international exposure now and that's the final piece for them," Rodney said.

"They've run fast times. They've been around us. It's just for them now to compete at the international level and put together things, and they'll be just as good or even better than we were."

Lauren Gale

Gale travelled to Tokyo with the Canadian team in 2021 at only 21 years old as a member of the 4x400m relay team pool, but never got to compete.

Even though she sat on the sidelines, it was an experience that drove Gale to make it back to the Olympics.

"Every time I went to practice, I was like, OK, add an extra two pounds to the weights or just do the extra rep because you want to make the team and you want to make sure that you're running," Gale told CBC Sports. "It lit a fire under me."

Now 24, the Ottawa native will compete in the women's 400m at the Olympics. Gale's best time at that distance this year is 50.47, No. 1 in the country among female sprinters. 

She'll be cheered on by a group of 16 family members and friends in France.

"I'm very excited to go," Gale said. "I've been working quite a few years to get to this spot. So once I'm there, I'm very excited to achieve my goal, and just happy to have friends and family along there with me."

Gale could also run in the 4x400m relay in Paris, and just missed qualifying in the mixed 4x400m relay.