By: Jonathan Yue
Mass cheers came from the grandstand as Aaron Brown and Andre De Grasse crossed the finish line neck to neck. Then there was a hush. There were rumbles amongst the athletes, even questions why the results were taking so long. But when the results finally flashed across the screen, it was the defending Canadian Champion, Aaron Brown, with a time of 10.021 seconds, who would retain the title as Canada’s fastest man.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment all season,” said Brown. “To defend my title, it means the world.”
Charging down the backstretch, it was a battle between Brown and Andre from the very start. Brown got out of the blocks quickly, but it was De Grasse who closed the gap to make it a photo finish. Timing officials had to go down to one thousandth of a second to differentiate the two men, with Brown’s 10.021 seconds beating out De Grasse’s 10.024 seconds, followed by Bismark Boateng in third in a time of 10.246 seconds.
Brown could hear the whispers with De Grasse coming back to form and he knew he had to respond with a big performance of his own. After De Grasse clocked 9.98 seconds in Heat 1 of the semifinals, Brown knew he had to respond, running 9.96 seconds in Heat 3, much to the delight of the packed Claude-Robillard Stadium.
“I could see the narrative shifting, ‘Oh he’s back, Andre this and that,’ and I would get lost in the fold,” said Brown. “I said ‘No, not this year I’m going to drop a nine-second’ and I know I can. I’ve been having good practices, so if that’s where he’s setting the bar at, I have to respond.”
In the women’s final, it was Crystal Emmanuel once again crowned Canada’s fastest woman. With the signature cry as her name flashed onto the video board, she celebrated her fourth consecutive title with the crowd.
Emmanuel finished ahead of Leya Buchanan (11.28 seconds) and Shaina Harrison (11.45 seconds) with a time of 11.17 seconds. But she’s not done yet and believes she still has room for improvement.
“I still have some more work to do heading into Pan Ams and Worlds,” said Emmanuel. “I’m in a good place right now. Me and my team are going hard for that Canadian record, and I know I can get it.”
Many of 100-metre athletes will now turn their attention to the 200-metre event, with the semi-finals tomorrow morning and the final on Sunday.
It wasn’t just the 100-metre athletes who brought the heat for Day 2 of the 2019 Canadian Track & Field Championships at Complex sportif Claude-Robillard. With temperatures hovering just over the 30-degree mark, the athletes felt it but were determined complete their goals.
Brittany Crew was one of those athletes. After a seventh-place finish at the Summer Universiade in Italy, Crew wanted to bounce back. She did much more than that, throwing to a Championship record of 18.65 metres, four centimetres short of tying her Canadian record of 18.69 metres set last month in Germany. Her performance finished ahead of training partners Sarah Mitton (17.37 metres) and Grace Tennant (14.71 ,metres), who finished in second and third, respectively.
“It was a great night here in Montreal, lots of great fans, and I’m really happy with my performance. It’s only four centimetres away from my personal best,” said the Canadian shot put record holder. “This year, I’ve just been on fire. I’ve been consistent near the 18.50 metre mark and I’m ready for a big jump. I’m hoping that it will be at Pan Ams or Worlds because that’s when it matters. “
Staying with the throws, Liz Gleadle continued her Canadian javelin dominance, winning her eighth Canadian title. Ashley Pryke (49.77 metres) and Alexis Brenzil (49.18 metres) would finish in second and third. Throwing 63.40 metres, Gleadle would set a new Championship record, finally putting in a performance that she was happy with after all these years.
“The meet record was only 60 metres, I’ve thrown 63-64 metres many times before. It’s nice to perform well at home so that they know what high performance is in Canadian javelin. I’m just really happy to be able to put it down, have some consistent throws, it’s great right now.”
The dominance continued in the women’s long jump as Christabel Nettey won her seventh straight Canadian title ahead of Baileh Simm (6.31 metres) and Sandra Latrace (6.13 metres).
On the men’s side, Stevens Dorcelus gave the hometown crowd something more to cheer for, winning the men’s long jump final with a jump of 7.83 metres. Closely behind in second was decathlete Pierce LePage with a distance of 7.80 metres, while Jesse Thibodeau jumped 7.61 metres to finish in third.
In the morning session, it was Trinity Tutti making a statement, breaking her own Canadian U20 discus record. Exactly one week after competing at the Pan American U20 Championships in Costa Rica, the Welland-native threw 56.95 metres, besting her old record of 55.95 metres and she hopes she’s not done yet.
“It feels super exciting,” said Tutti, with her gold medal around her neck. “I’m happy going into shot put on Sunday with a gold medal in my back pocket.”
Getting the day started was the para wheelchair 1,500-metre finals, where Joshua Cassidy and Diane Roy continued their winning ways from Day 1. The men’s T34-53-54 1,500-metre race was one of the most anticipated events this year, with three of the top Canadian para athletes all time competing in the event. Cassidy, joined by Alexandre Dupont and Tristan Smyth formed the trio of athletes to enter the race with sub three-minute mark. In the end, it was Cassidy who charged through the finish line in first to capture his second Canadian title in just as many days, ahead of Dupont (3:14.13) and Smyth (3:19.09).
“I felt a bit heavy after last night and I wasn’t sure how today would go, but I wanted to push the limits, push the pace hard,” said Cassidy. “It’s always fun to run in front of a crowd. As I get older, you manage it well, motivates you. It’s really exciting to have it here in Montreal and it’s been a good turnout.”
Diane Roy looks like she won’t be stopping any time soon as she continues to win. This time it was winning the women’s T53-54 1,500-metre in a time of 3:59.02 ahead of Jessica Frotten (3:59.83) and Catherine Vaillant (4:18.35).
The crowded and emerging 400-metre field also began Friday morning, hoping to punch their ticket into the finals, that will be held on Saturday night. Austin Cole and Kyra Constantine raced to the top spot in their respective fields, and expect to see a competitive group of 400-metre athletes in the finals and for years to come.
“The 400-metre is coming back to Canada, better than ever,” said Cole. “Having four or five guys in around the 45-second mark, soon we’ll have an unreal 4×400-metre relay team. It’s going to be a really big race tomorrow to see who gets out on top, it’s anyone’s race.”
If the first two days of the Canadian Track & Field Championships were any precursor for Day 3, it will be action packed with fast times, big jumps and long throws. Saturday will be filled with event finals, including the 800-metre finals, the aforementioned 400-metre finals, men’s high jump final and many more.
Follow along at AthleticsCanada.TV+PLUS, as well as on our social channels Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Watching or competing at the event? Make sure to tag us and use our hashtag #ACWorldTrials and we’ll share the best on our channels. Results from Day 1 and Day 2 can be found here.