4 races to watch at the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships

The 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships have arrived and are taking place from Thursday through Sunday in Langley, B.C. The meet has attracted Canada’s top athletes, who are eager to vie for the coveted title of national champion and secure their spots in the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Here are four races you don’t want to miss this weekend.

Men’s 5,000m

Ben Flanagan and Jeremy Coughler have had considerable success on the roads, but on Thursday night, both men will be competing for the Canadian men’s 5,000m title on the track. Coughler comes into the event with momentum, winning the Canadian 10,000m title at the same venue in June, plus he holds a personal best of 13:37.69 for the 5,000m, achieved at the same championships last year. To secure a shot at worlds, Coughler will need a sub-13:30 time and a victory over his former high school and university rival, Flanagan.

Flanagan has shifted his focus to the 5,000m this season, and his efforts have paid off. Just last week, he secured an impressive victory in the 5,000m at the Oxy Invite in Los Angeles, clocking an impressive time of 13:20.13. This season, he has managed to break the 13:20 mark on three separate occasions. With his current top 30 ranking, Flanagan appears to be in a good position for selection in the men’s 5,000m at world championships, but a win at the Canadian Track and Field Championships would undoubtedly solidify his spot.

The men’s 5,000m is scheduled to start on Thursday night at 8:50 p.m. local time and 11:50 p.m. E.T.

Women’s 3,000m steeplechase

Vancouver’s Ceili McCabe has been showcasing her dominance in the 3,000m steeplechase this season. Out of her six races at this distance, she has been victorious in four and arrives at the national championships fresh off a personal best of 9:28.76, achieved during her win at the Harry Jerome Classic just two weeks ago. Last year, McCabe won the steeplechase title at nationals, securing her first senior championship at the young age of 20.

Regan Yee holds a higher rank than McCabe in the World Athletics rankings, but she has faced defeat against McCabe in their last two encounters. Their showdown at the 2023 Harry Jerome Classic saw a thrilling sprint to the finish in the 100m, with McCabe surging past Yee after the final barrier.

Among the other notable athletes to keep an eye on are Grace Fetherstonhaugh, who has had a breakout season at Oregon State University in the NCAA, claiming a conference title in the steeplechase, and 2020 Olympian Alycia Butterworth. Despite some time off in 2022, Butterworth has made an impressive comeback, registering a season’s best of 9:39.98 at the Harry Jerome Classic, finishing behind McCabe, Yee, and Fetherstonhaugh.

The women’s 3,000m steeplechase is scheduled to begin on Thursday night at 7:50 p.m. local time and 10:50 p.m. E.T.

Women’s 800m

Canadian middle-distance running is currently at its peak, and the women’s 800m field is brimming with talent, hinting at the possibility of some impressive times. Notably, there are 10 women with seed times under 2:05. Furthermore, with Vancouver’s Lindsey Butterworth absent and Lucia Stafford shifting her focus to the 1,500m, the 800m event seems wide open for contenders to step up and seize the opportunity.

Pembroke, Ont.’s Madeleine Kelly has made a name for herself in the 800m at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. Kelly has won two of the last three Canadian 800m titles (winning in 2019 and 2022) over an impressive field. In 2022, Kelly broke the two-minute barrier on two occasions, which earned her a Team Canada spot at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, but she’s had mixed results during the the 2023 season. She is still awaiting a breakthrough performance and needs a win at nationals to punch her ticket to Budapest.

Kelly’s former University of Toronto teammate and current training partner, Jazz Shukla, has only gotten better since her return to the 800m in 2022. Shukla holds the fastest time in the field this year, with her 2:00.84 clocking at the Portland Track Classic in June. Shukla has not lost in the 800m domestically this season and vying to make her first senior world championship team.

A dark horse for the win is Toronto’s Aurora Rynda, who has had a successful five-year stint at the University of Michigan, setting school records in the 600 and 800m events. Rynda has a personal best of 2:02.55 and can be a threat to win, if it comes down to a sprint.

The heats of the women’s 800m begin on Thursday night, with the semi-finals taking place Friday, with the finals on Saturday at 8 p.m. local time and 11 p.m. E.T.

Men’s 100m

All the prominent names in Canadian sprinting are in Langley to set the stage for one of the deepest nationals 100m fields in the past five years. Aaron Brown boasts an impressive record in the 100m and 200m at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, winning the last four titles in both 100 and 200 events. Brown has been consistent this season, and is one of the best sprinters in the world out of the blocks. While he has already achieved the world championship standard in the 200m, a victory in the 100m would enhance his ranking ahead of Budapest.

Brown enters the competition as the favourite in the 100m. However, Canadian track fans have been eagerly awaiting Andre De Grasse’s return to peak form. While De Grasse has displayed promising results this season, he has yet to reach the same levels of performance seen at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. So far, he has not dipped under 10.10 seconds in the 100m or 20.20 seconds in the 200m, something he had almost become accustomed to in previous seasons. It’s been a month since De Grasse has last competed, and his fitness will be the question mark heading into the championships.

Jerome Blake, who is Brown’s and De Grasse’s 4x100m relay teammate, comes into the championships with the third-fastest seed time. Blake achieved 10.08 seconds in his season opener in April, but he hasn’t managed another sub-10.10 clocking since then. Another standout in the field is Usheoritse Itsekiri, a Nigerian sprinter residing and training in Regina; Itsekiri holds the fastest time in the 100m field at 10.02 seconds, achieved at the Nigerian Athletics Championships in early July. Impressively, he has won all 10 of his previous 100m races on Canadian soil this season while consistently delivering sub-10.10 performances. However, as Itsekiri competes for Nigeria internationally, he remains ineligible for Canadian championship prizing.

Regina sprinter breaks CTFL 100m record with 10.02 clocking

The men’s 100m kicks off on Friday afternoon at 5:10 p.m. local time and 8:10 p.m. E.T., with the finals taking place later that evening, at 10:40 p.m. E.T.

You can view the full schedule of events at the championships here.

How to watch

The 2023 Canadian Track & Field Championships will be broadcasted live (for a fee) from Langley, B.C. Thursday through Sunday, July 27-30 on AthleticsCanada.tv.