Canada wins gold, bronze to end World Relays and clinches another spot at athletics worlds
Mixed 4x100m team victorious while botched exchange costs men chance at 100m win
Canada's mixed team of 100-metre sprinters will not join its men's and women's counterparts at the World Athletics Championships in September but was the lone foursome to claim victory on the final day at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.
Sade McCreath, Marie-Éloise Leclair, Duan Asemota and Eliezer Adjibi prevailed in a season-best 40.30 seconds over Jamaica for the $40,000 US top prize on Sunday at Guangdong Olympic Stadium. While they won't be competing at the Sept. 13-21 worlds in Tokyo as the event will not be contested, it was added recently to the Olympic program for 2028 in Los Angeles.
After going 40.90 in the event's debut on Saturday in China to book a spot in the final, the Canadians shaved over a half-second off that performance Sunday to hold off the Jamaicans (40.44) and Great Britain (40.88). It was the best effort of 2025 for all three squads.
"I think this is a test and it shows how hard we work," an elated Asemota said.
"We had been to the relay camp, we all sacrificed so many weeks of the year to get this relay right. We showed it on the track and with this medal. We did it."
WATCH | Canada achieves season-best time in mixed 4x100m final:
Pre-event favourites the United States was absent from the final after fumbling a baton exchange in the heats.
Canada's 4x100 team, the reigning Olympic champions, lost precious time when the exchange between starter Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake wasn't clean and took a third attempt before the latter could proceed down the track.
Undeterred, Blake, Brendon Rodney and anchor Andre De Grasse persevered and reached the medal podium, earning bronze behind South Africa and the United States, which was without Olympic and world 100 champion Noah Lyles but featured back-to-back Olympic 200 silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.
Akani Simbine, coming of a victory in the 100 at the Diamond League season opener, delivered a late burst of speed to anchor South Africa to victory after it was assessed a green card for a false start but allowed to remain in the race.
Simbine ran 9.99 two weeks ago in Xiamen, China after posting a season world-leading 9.90 on April 12 before a packed National Stadium in Gaborone at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
South Africa finished only 7-100ths of a second behind Canada for an Olympic silver medal last Aug. 9 in Paris.
The Canadian foursome that won Olympic gold with a 37.50 clocking went 38.11 on Sunday. They ran 37.89 a year ago to capture world relay silver in Nassau, Bahamas.
WATCH | Canadians reach men's 100m relay podium with bronze:
Canada was second in its heat on Saturday to qualify for Sunday's final but more importantly secure a spot at the world championships.
The automatic qualification was in doubt until De Grasse lifted his team in the anchor leg. The Markham, Ont., native held off Australia and the Netherlands to cross the line in 38.15 behind Japan (37.84).
Canada's 4x400 mixed team of Austin Cole, Lauren Gale, Nathan George and Zoe Sherar will compete at worlds after taking nearly 10 seconds off their season best from Saturday and stopping the clock in three minutes 12.95 seconds in the second round of qualifying on Sunday.
WATCH | Canada books spot at world championships in mixed 4x400m:
They needed a top-three finish to advance and placed third, holding off India by almost two seconds (3:14.81) in the second of two heats.
Cole, Gale, George and Sherar were the last of six teams in the third and final heat on Saturday in 3:22.37.
The Canadian women's 4x100 team of Jacqueline Madogo, Audrey Leduc, McCreath and Leclair was fifth in Sunday's final in a national record 42.46.
Sixth at the 2024 Olympics, they were fourth in their Saturday heat when Leduc took the baton and powered past the Italian and Dutch runners to secure a second-place finish (43.11) and clinch a berth at worlds.
WATCH | Canadian women set national record in 4x100m:
Great Britain won in 42.21 over Spain (42.28) and Jamaica (42.33), which had 2024 world silver medallist and reigning world 200m champion Shericka Jackson running the anchor leg.
The Canadians struggled at the outset of the women's 4x400 final and struggled to make up ground, crossing the finish line seventh in the eight-team field, a spot below last year's Olympic appearance.
But they, too, booked a spot at worlds on Saturday and followed up with a 3:27.84 effort.
Lead runner Micha Powell replaced Jasneet Nijjar on Sunday, joining Madeline Price, Sherar and Gale.
WATCH | Worlds-bound Canadian women 7th in 4x400m final:
Canada was fourth in Saturday's heat (3:37.28) to advance to the final.
Spain picked up its second medal of the day, winning in a national record 3:24.13. The U.S. (3:24.72) and South Africa (3:24.84, a national mark) rounded out the medal podium.
WATCH | Day 2 of the World Athletics Relays:
With files from Reuters and CBC Sports
