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Team Canada qualifies 3 Olympic relay teams at World Relays

Saturday's preliminary heats saw the men's and women's 4x100 and women's 4x400 directly qualify for Paris 2024

Andre De Grasse Photo by: Kevin Morris
May 5, 2024
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Saturday’s first qualifying round races at the 2024 World Athletic Relays in the Bahamas were full of excitement, as Canada saw three teams rise to the occasion on the world stage and earn spots in this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Stakes were high on day one in Nassau, as teams had a preliminary shot at directly earning their Olympic spot. Canada had sent five relay teams across the five race disciplines, and after Saturday’s races, three teams had succeeded on their Paris-bound mission. The men’s and women’s 4×100 relays and the women’s 4×400 relay each placed within the first two of their respective heats, which means an automatic qualification for Paris.

Coming in fifth with a time of 3:05.04, Canada’s men’s 4×400 did not qualify automatically; they still have a shot, with finals taking place Sunday evening.

The Canadian mixed 4×400 team also came fifth in their heat.

How the Olympic qualifications have played out so far

In the women’s 4×400, the Canadian quartet of Zoe Sherar, Aiyanna Stiverne, Kyra Constatine and Alyssa Marsh placed second in their heat to both advance to the finals on Sunday evening and earn their ticket to Paris.

Canada’s women’s 4×400 has historically faired well on the world stage, with recent results of fourth at the 2023 World Championships and fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Sunday evening’s race will give the women the opportunity to earn a medal and prize money.

The men’s 4×100 team of Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney and Jerome Blake won their heat in a time of 38.11. The star-studded team has a chance to win the finals Sunday night, in a race that will surely feature a showdown with Team USA, who ran yesterday’s fastest race in 37.49.

The woman’s 4×100 team of Sade McCreath, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Audrey Leduc and Crystal Emmanuel edged out China for second in their heat behind Poland.

“I think my heart stopped for a minute and then I just realized, oh my God, we did it. We came together and made it happen,” said McCreath in a post-race interview.

What’s to come

Both the 4×400 mixed and men’s relays have a chance to qualify for Paris this evening. The men’s race gives Canada one final chance to qualify for the Olympics in that event for the first time in 32 years, and after Saturday’s first round heats, the team was eager to find redemption.

“Our 4×400 will be in Paris. I promise you,” Myles Misener-Daly told the CBC in a post-race interview. 

Full results and information to watch tonight’s races can be found here.

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