Your guide to the Canadians racing at 2022 World Indoor Championships

The 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships are set to begin on Friday in Belgrade, Serbia, marking the first time in four years that the indoor championship will be held–after its cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic. There will be 13 individual athletes and one relay team competing for Team Canada in Belgrade across the three-day competition. Here is your guide to who is competing and when to watch.

Canadian medal threats

Damian Warner

The reigning Olympic decathlon champion, Damian Warner, will be after his first World Indoor title, finishing second to Kevin Mayer of France four years ago in Birmingham. Warner will compete in the heptathlon, consisting of seven indoor events (four on day one, three on day two). This time around, Mayer won’t be around to defend his title in Belgrade, as he is dealing with an ongoing Achilles injury. 

Although Mayer will be missing from the competition, the 32-year-old Olympic champion from London, Ont., will have his hands full with two up-and-coming athletes: Garrett Scantling from the U.S. and Olympic bronze medallist Ash Moloney from Australia. Warner has had a quiet start to 2022, besides running a 7.63 in the 60m hurdles, only 0.01 seconds shy of his personal best.

Warner’s indoor championship bid will get underway in the 60m on Friday morning at 9:55 a.m. local time (4:55 a.m. ET), with the final event (the 1,000m) taking place on Saturday afternoon at 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET).

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford

Currently sitting fifth in the World Athletics rankings over the 3,000m, Toronto native and Bowerman Track Club member Gabriela DeBues-Stafford will hope to continue her record-breaking season in Belgrade. DeBues-Stafford has had a remarkable indoor season, breaking the Canadian indoor 3,000m and 5,000m records in back-to-back weekends. In Serbia, she will be among those contending for a medal in the women’s 3,000m, which will get underway on Friday at 8:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. ET).

DeBues-Stafford will be up against some stiff competition, as Ethiopia has enjoyed dominance in this event over the past two decades, winning eight of the past nine women’s 3,000m titles at these championships. The Ethiopian trio of Dawit Seyaum, Ejgayehu Taye and Lemlem Hailu have all run under 8:30, with Seyaum and Taye both doing so this indoor season. Debues-Stafford has dominated North American competition this indoor season but hasn’t yet faced the elite-level competition of the Kenyan and Ethiopian contingent. 

Marco Arop

The 23-year-old 800m runner made his presence on the world stage last summer, picking up three straight podium finishes on the Diamond League after the Tokyo Olympics. Now, Arop is the top-ranked runner in the world heading into these championships, and Kenya’s Olympic gold and silver medallists Ferguson Rotich and Emmanuel Korir will be missing from the field. Elliot Giles of the U.K. and Bryce Hoppel of the U.S. will be the favourites, both undefeated in this 2022 indoor season. 

The men’s 800m heats will get underway on Friday at 1:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. ET) with the final taking place Saturday afternoon. 

You can catch all the action surrounding the 2022 World Indoor Championships on CBC Sports or online via the CBC Gem app. There will also be live coverage of the championship aired on the World Athletics YouTube page.

World Indoor Championship schedule

Friday, March 18 

Morning:

Women’s 1,500m (heats) – Lucia Stafford (7:30 a.m. ET)

Men’s 800m (heats) – Marco Arop (8:00 a.m. ET)

Men’s 3,000m (heats) – Ehab El-Sandali, John Gay (8:30 a.m. ET)

Evening:  

Women’s 3,000m (final) – Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Julie-Anne Staehli (3:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, March 19

Morning:

Women’s 60m hurdles (heats) – Michelle Harrison (5:00 a.m. ET)

Men’s 60m (heats) – Bolade Ajomale (5:45 a.m. ET)

Women’s 800m (heats) – Madeleine Kelly, Lindsey Butterworth (6:30 a.m. ET)

Men’s 1,500m (heats) – Cameron Proceviat (7:15 a.m. ET)

Evening:  

Men’s 800m (final) – Marco Arop (*) (2:00 p.m. ET)

Men’s Heptathlon (final) – Damian Warner (2:30 p.m. ET)

Women’s 1,500m (final) – Lucia Stafford (*) (3:30 p.m. ET)

Women’s 60m hurdles (final) – Michelle Harrison (*) (4:00 p.m. ET)

Men’s 60m (final) – Bolade Ajomale (*) (4:15 p.m. ET)

Sunday, March 20

Morning:

Women’s 4x400m relay (heats) – Team Canada (6:00 a.m. ET)

Men’s 3,000m (final) – Ehab El-Sandali (*) (7:00 a.m. ET)

Evening: 

Women’s 800m (final) – Madeleine Kelly (*), Lindsey Butterworth (*) (1:00 p.m. ET)

Men’s 1,500m (final) – Cameron Proceviat (*) (1:30 p.m. ET)

Women’s 4x400m relay (final) – Team Canada (*) (2:30 p.m. ET)

(*) – has not yet qualified for the final