Canada claims three medals at World Athletics Relays

Team Canada closed out the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone with two silver medals, a bronze, and new national records. The performances also secured qualification for five Canadian relay teams at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

The quartet of Eliezer Adjibi, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Duan Asemota and Audrey Leduc delivered a silver-medal performance in the mixed 4x100m final, navigating a newly introduced running order of man-woman-man-woman.

Leduc surged Canada into contention on the home straight, but couldn’t close the gap as the team held on for second in 40.23 seconds. Jamaica took gold in a world-record 39.62, with the United States third in a season-best 40.33.

The result capped a record-breaking weekend in the event. In Saturday’s heats, the Canadian squad opened competition with a world mark of 40.07 to secure qualification for next year’s World Athletic Championships in Beijing. Leduc ran a storming anchor leg to hold off Germany (40.15), Netherlands (40.20) and Nigeria (40.24), all of whom also dipped under the previous world best.

That heat performance improved on Canada’s previous world standard of 40.30, set when the mixed 4x100m debuted at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou. Roughly 10 minutes later, Jamaica lowered the bar further with a 39.99 heat run, becoming the first to break 40 seconds in the event.

In the women’s 4x100m final, Canada clocked 42.17 seconds to lower its own national record of 42.46 set a year earlier, securing silver in a tightly contested final.

The quartet of Sadé McCreath, Audrey Leduc and Marie-Éloïse Leclair set the race up strongly for anchor Donna Ntambue, who powered Canada into the lead. However, Elaine Thompson-Herah powered Jamaica past in the closing metres to take gold in 42.00 seconds. Canada held on for silver, just ahead of Spain in 42.31.

Canada closed the women’s 4x400m relay with a bronze medal in a season’s best 3:22.66. Lauren Gale, Aiyanna Stiverne, Kyra Constantine and Savannah Sutherland ran a composed race, building steadily through each leg before Sutherland delivered a powerful anchor to bring the team home on the podium.

The race was won in a world-leading 3:20.96 by Norway, with Spain taking silver in a national record 3:21.25.

In the men’s 4x100m final, Canada finished seventh in 40.06 seconds in the eight-team field after a mid-race setback.

The quartet of Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney was disrupted on the second leg when Blake pulled up with an apparent right leg issue. Despite the injury, he completed his portion of the race before hobbling through the exchange to Rodney, effectively taking Canada out of contention for a podium finish.

It was a difficult end to a weekend that had begun on a far brighter note. The reigning Olympic champions opened competition with a world-leading 37.56 seconds in their heat, just six-hundredths off their 2024 Olympic-winning time in Paris. That performance secured Canada a place in Sunday’s final, as well as automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

In the final, however, Canada crossed the line well behind the leaders as the race unfolded at the front between the United States and South Africa. The Americans ultimately prevailed in 37.43 seconds, edging South Africa’s African record of 37.49 in a tightly fought finish, with Germany third in 37.76.

In the mixed 4x400m competition, the Canadian squad set a national record in the second qualifying heat. Nathan George, Ella Clayton, Ryder Rattee, and Diana Proctor finished with a mark of 3:12.43.

With this weekend’s performances in Gaborone, Canada has qualified five teams for the 2027 World Athletic Championships: the men’s 4x100m, women’s 4x100m, mixed 4x100m, women’s 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m. The relays also served as the main qualification pathway for the inaugural 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.