Day One recap: Canada shines on the track and in the field

The first day of competition at the World Athletics Championships brought a lot of excitement for what is yet to come. Seven Canadian athletes advanced into the next round, with Aaron Brown, Camryn Rogers and Sarah Mitton leading the way for Team Canada.

In her first World Championships, Rogers spent two minutes on the field as she hit the automatic qualifying mark for the women’s hammer throw final on her very first throw. She threw 73.67, which earned her a spot in Sunday’s hammer throw final. Also joining Rogers in the final is Team Canada’s Jillian Weir, who threw 72.00m on her second attempt.

In the afternoon session, Mitton continued Canada’s early success in the field events, earning an automatic qualifying spot for the final on her second throw (19.38m). “I am just excited to be here,” Mitton said. “I am having tons of fun out there.” She will compete for Canada’s first medal tomorrow evening in the women’s shot put final.

?AUTOQUAL – Sarah Mitton?

The Canadian shot put record holder throws for 19.38 metres and automatically qualifies for the final at #WorldAthleticsChamps!?

Shotput final goes tomorrow afternoon at 4:25 PST.#MittonSZN goes Pacific.

— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) July 16, 2022

Seven men under 10 seconds in the 100m heats

The men’s 100m exceeded already high expectations for the heats. Olympic silver medallist Fred Kerley made a statement, clocking a 9.79 (+0.1) in heat two. The excitement continued, with his compatriots Christian Coleman and Trayvon Bromell winning their heats. In heat five, 20-year-old phenom Letsile Tebogo of Botswana clocked a world junior record of 9.94s to take the win ahead of Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and Canada’s Brown.

Brown ran a season’s best time of 10.06 seconds to earn himself a spot in Saturday’s semi-final. “I’ve been focusing on speed a bit more this year,” Brown says. “I know I am one of the best in the world out of the blocks, and I felt it really helped me today.”

Canada's Aaron Brown is through to the men's 100m semifinal with a season-best time of 10.06 ??⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Abpjj2ZcmU

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 16, 2022

Olympic 100m bronze medallist Andre De Grasse returned to track for the first time since contracting COVID-19 in early June. The 27-year-old finished second in his heat in 10.12 seconds, behind the 2019 world 100m champion, Coleman. De Grasse and Brown will compete in heats two and three of the 100m semi-final at the start of tomorrow’s evening session.

Andre De Grasse “Happy to be back out there competing” after suffering a few setbacks this season.

The six-time ?? Olympic medallist finished 2nd in his 100m heat in 10.12s#WCHOregon22 #teamCanada pic.twitter.com/z5upDMDXVC

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) July 16, 2022

Django Lovett jumps season’s best to qualify for final

The current world #3 reached 2.28m in his qualifying jumps to earn a spot in Monday’s high jump final. It was a season’s best performance from Lovett, who has made a name for himself on the Diamond League this year.

Natalia Hawthorn just misses women’s 1,500m semi

It was tough luck for Canada’s women in the 1,500m heats. Both Hawthorn and Lucia Stafford missed out on a spot in the semi-finals by small margins. Hawthorn finished 13th in her heat, with 4:07.37, and the final fastest qualifying time was 4:07.05. The 2021 World Indoor champion, Gudaf Tsegay, had the fastest time in the heats with 4:02.68.

Faith Kipyegon of Kenya controls heat two of the women's 1,500m in 4:04.53.

Heat was ?

Canada's Hawthorn and Stafford will not advance to the semi-final.#WCHOregon22 #TeamCanada

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) July 16, 2022

The 2022 World Athletics Championships are taking place from July 15-25 from Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. All the action will be brought to you by Canadian Running and Asics Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.