Some of Canada’s top track and field athletes will be in Nanjing, China this weekend for the World Athletic Indoor Championships.
That includes eight who were members of Canada’s Paris Olympic team last summer, joining more than 500 athletes from about 120 nations competing across 26 events over three days from March 21-23.
In an Athletics Canada news release announcing the team last week, head coach Glenroy Gilbert said world indoors “is a big deal for the team” and their opportunity to “hopefully perform very well as a stepping stone to what they’re going to do outdoors.”
For many of the athletes Nanjing will be the first step heading into World Athletic Outdoor Championships in Tokyo, Japan this fall, while also capping off a high-performing indoor season.
Here are six events to keep an eye on this weekend.
Women’s Shot Put
Leading Canada’s medal prospects for Nanjing is Olympian and reigning World Indoor Champion Sarah Mitton.
After a disappointing 12th-place performance in Paris, the Canadian record-holder has been making a statement this indoor season with a medal-winning streak in the World Athletics Indoor Tour across Europe and is currently ranked second in the world.
Mitton, who throws on Friday, is looking to defend her world indoor title this weekend.
“The exciting thing about women’s shot is that we’re having a moment right now,” Mitton said. “(There’s been) some really big throws so early in the season, so I’d say it’s an entirely different competition than last year so I’m going to have to be at my best to do that.”
Mitton said she also sees Nanjing as a “precursor” for the outdoor season and world championships this fall.
However, “world indoors right now is about leaving a bit of a legacy behind,” writing her name permanently into the books as a champion.
60-metre sprints
Audrey Leduc, Sade McCreath represent Canada for the women, Malachi Murray and Norris Spike the men.
Leduc made her Olympic debut this past summer, setting the Canadian record in the 100m and 200m. She has led Canada’s indoor rankings in the 60m this season, coming into the competition with a time of 7.20 seconds.
This will be Leduc’s second appearance at world indoors, having made it to the semifinals in the 60m last year in Glasgow.
Also making her second trip to indoor words is fellow Olympic 4x100m relay team member McCreath, who ran a personal best time of 7.26 to qualify for Nanjing.
Murray, who is coming in with a time of 6.58, hopes to improve on his semifinal result from Glasgow. Spike is entering Nanjing with a personal best in the event set last month of 6.65 to make his first appearance at world indoors.
Men’s 60m heats and finals run on Friday while women’s heats and finals are Saturday.
Men’s and women’s 1,500 metres
Team Canada will be sending a top tier squad for the 1,500m with Olympians Lucia Stafford, Simone Plourde and Kieran Lumb, as well as newcomer Foster Malleck. Stafford, Plourde and Lumb all made it to the inaugural repechage rounds at the Paris Olympics in the 1,500m last summer but did not progress to the semis.
Stafford was 11th last year in Glasgow, while Lumb finished 13th. Plourde did not advance to the final last year but will have another chance to step up to the line with Stafford this weekend.
Malleck qualified for the event with his time in the mile, running 3:53:82 last month. This past weekend at the NCAA indoor championships in Virginia he took home the bronze medal in the mile with a time of 3:54.42.
Heats begin on Friday.
Men’s and Women’s 800 metres
Representing Canada are former NCAA standouts Aurora Rynda and Robert Heppenstall, both making their first world indoor appearance. This is Rynda’s first competition at a major senior worlds competition and she comes in with a personal indoor best time of 2:00.67 run this season.
Heppenstall had an excellent indoor competition season, qualifying for the world championships with a personal best time of 1:46:04 run earlier this month.
Heats begin on Friday.
Women’s 60-metre hurdles
Canada will be represented in the women’s short hurdles by Sienna MacDonald and Tatiana Aholou, both of whom will be making their first world indoor appearance this weekend.
MacDonald broke both the 60m hurdle and long jump USports records at the USports track and field national championships earlier this month. Nanjing will be the heptathlete’s debut appearance for Team Canada.
MacDonald’s hurdle time of 7.97 seconds s also only 0.07 off the U23 national record set by Olympian Perdita Felicien in 2002.
Aholou qualified for the competition at Boston University’s Last Chance Indoor National Qualifier earlier this month, running a personal best time of 8.01. This is the NCAA athletes’ first senior world championship.
Heats and final are on Sunday.
Men’s 400 Metres
The highlight for Team Canada in the 400m is Christopher Morales Williams, an Olympic semifinalist in Paris and the 2024 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the event. Ranked 17th in World Athletics’ rankings for the 400m, Morales Williams comes into his first world indoors with a time of 45.26 seconds.
Heats begin Friday morning.
The full schedule of events at the World Indoor Championships this weekend can be found at the World Athletics website.
