The Canadian men’s 4×100-metre relay team, consisting of Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Jerome Blake, secured a spot at next year’s world championships after their performance at the World Athletics Relays on Saturday. The team, which are the reigning Olympic champions and world championship silver medallists, won their qualifying heat in Gaborone, Botswana, with a world-leading time of 37.56 seconds, just six-hundredths of a second off their gold-winning time at Paris 2024.
This achievement not only earned them a place in Sunday’s final but also automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships. In addition, Canada also saw success in the women’s and mixed 4x100m disciplines. Eliezer Adjibi, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Duan Asemota, and Audrey Leduc set a mixed 4x100m world-record time of 40.07 seconds, securing a spot in next year’s worlds and the Sunday final.
The top six teams in the mixed relay finals in Gaborone will automatically qualify for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest. However, Jamaica’s team managed to break Canada’s newly set mixed relay world record with a time of 39.99 seconds.
In the women’s events, a Canadian team consisting of Sade McCreath, Donna Ntambue, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, and Audrey Leduc qualified for the 2027 world championships after finishing their heat with a time of 42.39 seconds. Canada’s women’s 4x400m team, including Zoe Sherar, Lauren Gale, Jasneet Nijjar, and Dianna Proctor, won their heat in 3:23.52, earning a spot in the final and qualification for next summer’s world championships.
While the Canadian mixed 4x400m team did not qualify for the final, they will have another chance in the second qualifying round on Sunday. The action at the World Relays continues on Sunday with live streaming on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, with additional coverage on CBC Sports Presents later in the day.