There's a good chance Canadian sprinters bring home medals from the 2026 World Athletics Relays. But for Athletics Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert, the goals for his team extend far beyond making it onto the podium at this weekend's event in Gaborone, Botswana.Â
The main objective is to qualify Canadian teams – the men's, women's, and mixed 4×100-metres, and the women's and mixed 4x400m – for the biggest event on next year's calendar, the 2027 World Athletics Championships.
But Gilbert's focus at the World Relays for his entire 29-member team – an intentional blend of rookies and veterans – stretches even further than next year's worlds. It goes all the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“Obviously, we’re trying to qualify all five [teams] to the world championships next summer in Beijing,†Gilbert said. “So, we bring in a mixed group – some veterans [and] some newcomers to the sprint relay group. There’s [an] opportunity for experience and understanding how the relay system works through World Athletics.
“Also for some of the athletes to kind of get that world stage experience, because it’s invaluable.â€
Live coverage of the World Athletics Relays on CBC Sports will be shown at 8 a.m. ET on both Saturday, May 2 and on Sunday, May 3. Watch all the action from Gaborone, Botswana, on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Click here for the full broadcast details.
Cultivating the next generation of a country's sprinters and relay teams is part of the appeal of a meet like the World Relays. Gilbert says the Canadian team has plenty of depth, but it's the seasoning at events like this one that helps develop the younger members into podium threats on the global stage.
“The opportunity to go to a World Relays, I think, is going to bode well for future development, or continued development, of our relay program,†Gilbert said. “We’ve got a lot of young people coming up [and] they’ve got to learn quickly, because there is no room for on-boarding … essentially you’re thrown right into the fire.
“We see very quickly who can handle it and who probably needs a little bit more time.â€
Among the athletes wearing the Maple Leaf in Gaborone this weekend will be Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Jerome Blake. The reigning Olympic champions in the men's 4x100m won silver at last year's world championships. At these World Relays, they'll be counted on to help the team in more ways than one.
“Because of the mixed bag of veterans and newcomers, some of the newcomers can look towards the veterans…for instance, the men’s 4x100m [team]. They’ve been together for quite some time, and they’ve won seven global medals over their career as national team athletes,†Gilbert says. “So you can look to them to say…'this is what longevity looks like and these are the guys that are doing it. So what can I learn from them?'
“And there is a lot to be learned, for sure.â€
One of the newest members on the team is 400-metre phenom Savannah Sutherland. The 22-year-old from Borden, Sask., is beginning her first full pro season following an illustrious collegiate career for the University of Michigan, where she set new NCAA and Canadian records in the women's 400m hurdles. Sutherland was also a finalist for The Bowerman, an annual award given to the top men's and women’s NCAA track and field athletes.
Even with that kind of collegiate pedigree, Gilbert says the World Relays can help Sutherland’s development as a pro because they provide opportunity for valuable reps – both on and off the track.
“Stepping out of [the NCAA], this is…her first year outside. This is professional track and field. So this is how you manage travel, how you manage acclimatization, acclamation on the ground, to step out and perform. It’s different when you’re going from Michigan to [another school], but when you’re flying for 19 hours…that’s what professional track and field is about,†Gilbert says. “I think all of it is going to be a bit of a learning curve for her, but I think she’s a professional athlete [and] is professional-minded. I’m sure she’s gonna be fantastic.
“We’re very lucky to have her, and fortunate that she’s out of school and she’s going be a part of the program.â€
The NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles, sits down with hosts Perdita Felicien and Aaron Brown to reflect on an incredible collegiate career.
Sutherland and other young runners join a team that has established a must-see reputation among Canadian sports fans. And wearing the Maple Leaf comes with a built-in expectation to perform.
“I can tell you firsthand that anytime the team is about to run, Canadians are paying attention. People are interested,†Gilbert says. “There was a time when we would be running and nobody had a clue that we had a team in the race. Now, the general public, sports fans – they’re expecting to see a Canadian team out there.
“It’s a good thing [but] it comes with a great deal of pressure.â€
No slowing down
That's a familiar feeling for the veterans on Canada's team in Gaborone – as is the pressure to qualify for next year's world championships. The top 12 finishers in each event earn a spot at worlds next season, and that will be job No. 1 for Canada's most-experienced sprinters – De Grasse, Brown, Rodney, and Blake – who haven't shown signs of slowing down anytime soon.
“These guys have been remarkable to me, I’ve got to be honest with you, in terms of their resilience. It’s been absolutely tremendous to watch,†Gilbert says. “Having been on a team myself, that – after the Olympic Games in 1996 – we kind of petered off from there. These guys have won Olympic gold, came back and, you know, it was [still] there.
“Ultimately, they will slow down. But I don’t see that [now]. Their goal and what they’ve talked about is trying to be together to 2028. I guess time will tell. We take it one competition at a time.”
Gilbert says the teammates' goal to stay together for another Olympic quadrennial doesn't guarantee that there won't be a change in the lineup. There's also no shortage of up-and-coming Canadian sprinters pushing for a spot on the team.
“There’s Malachi [Murray], there’s Duan Asemota, there’s Eliezer Adjibi – I mean, these are three key youngsters that are challenging for a spot. But they have to take the spot, essentially from one of the guys that are still relevant and still doing it,†Gilbert says. “Eliezer, last year, had a more impactful year with the men’s [4x100m team]…so he’s one that’s knocking on the door.Â
“Opportunity has to present itself, though, because if you go with chemistry, you go with the team that can get the job done. It’s up to them, and they’re the ones that are gonna decide if somebody’s not pulling their weight.
“We have no problems… with moving them and moving somebody else in there.â€
On the women's side, the 4x100m team of Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Éloïse Leclair and Audrey Leduc are coming off a record-breaking season. The foursome set a new Canadian record at last year's World Relays before lowering it again on the way to a spot in the final at the world championships, and Gilbert believes they are on the cusp of making the podium on the biggest stage in the world.
“This is a team that’s young, it’s a team that’s developing. They’re getting more and more experience and composure at that highest level,†Gilbert says. “I believe that their time is going to come and they’re going to sneak [into a final] at some point. If it doesn’t happen this year – next year, definitely. We’re looking at L.A. in 2028 to find their way onto the podium.
“You've just got to be in the final. When you’re in the final, anything is possible.â€
Canadian roster for World Relays
- Aaron Brown (Toronto) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Andre De Grasse (Markham, Ont.) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Brendon Rodney (Etobicoke, Ont.) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Duan Asemota (Ajax, Ont.) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Eliezer Adjibi (Ottawa) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Jerome Blake (Kelowna, B.C.) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Malachi Murray (Edmonton) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Travis Campbell (Milton, Ont.) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Tyrell Davis (Winnipeg) — Men’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Audrey Leduc (Laval, Que.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Dona Ntambue (Montreal) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Emily Martin (Barrie, Ont.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Emma Cannan (Kelowna, B.C.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Frédérique Chiasson (Quebec City) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Gabrielle Colle (Ajax, Ont.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Jacqueline Madogo (Ottawa) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Marie-Éloïse Leclair (Candiac, Que.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Sade McCreath (Ajax, Ont.) — Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m
- Nathan George (Vancouver) — Mixed 4x400m
- Ryder Rattee (Spruce Grove, Alta.) — Mixed 4x400m
- Zachary Jeggo (Embrun, Ont.) — Mixed 4x400m
- Dianna Proctor (Edmonton) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Ella Clayton (Calgary) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Grace Konrad (Edmonton) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Jasneet Nijjar (Surrey, B.C.) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Lauren Gale (Ottawa) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Marie-Frédérique Poulin (Quebec City) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Savannah Sutherland (Borden, Sask.) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
- Zoe Sherar (Toronto) — Women’s 4x400m, Mixed 4x400m
