TORONTO — Sprinter Andre De Grasse, decathlete Damian Warner and shot putter Sarah Mitton headline Canada’s 54-member team heading to the world athletics championships in Eugene, Ore.
Mitton is coming off a spectacular week that saw her throw a Canadian record 20.33 meters on Saturday at the nationals in Langley, B.C., then grab silver in a Diamond League event in Stockholm on Thursday with a throw to 19.90 meters.
“I try not to think about competition differently,” Mitton said. “But it changed my perception of what I can do. My goal at the start of the year was to be in the top 12, but 20 meters on any given day is a place on the podium.
“Confidence is high but I still have to get through the qualifying rounds, so the first objective is to get a good run in the top three, and reassess from there.”
De Grasse, a six-time Olympic medalist, and Warner, the reigning Olympic decathlon champion, were both late withdrawals from last week’s Canadian championships.
Warner pulled out with a sore knee, while De Grasse tested positive for COVID-19.
Both should be healthy for the world championships, which take place July 15-24 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
“With the world championships as the benchmark event, we expect the athletes to perform at their best and this is our best team,” said Canada’s head coach Glenroy Gilbert. “We had some great performances at Nationals last week in a variety of events. We were also missing some athletes who will be at Worlds, so we expect great results overall in Eugene.
Before falling ill, De Grasse had returned to form after a foot injury early in the season, winning the 100 meters at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo on June 16 in 10.05 seconds, the fastest time in the season.
De Grasse will compete in the 100m, 200m and 4×100 relays in Eugene. He won medals in all three events, including gold in the 200m, at the Tokyo Olympics and became Canada’s most decorated male summer Olympian with six career podium finishes.
Fellow sprinter Aaron Brown, the new 2022 Canadian 100m and 200m champion, is looking forward to competing in his fifth world championship
“This world championship is special because it’s being held in North America for the first time,” said Brown, a two-time Olympic medalist with the Canadian 4×100 relay team. “Hayward is always a special place to race and I hope this opportunity to grow the sport on this side of the world will be taken.”
Mohammed Ahmed, a silver medalist in the 5,000 meters in Tokyo, will compete in the 5,000 and 10,000 in Eugene, while Evan Dunfee, who won bronze at the 2020 Olympics, will compete in the 50 kilometer walk. Both men won bronze medals at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 21, 2022
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