Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada athletics athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes are:
 

Sensational performances at last week’s Bell Track & Field Trials in Montreal propelled some members of this team to secure their nominations, while others qualified on the back of a season of strong results and accumulating World Athletics Ranking points at competitions at home and around the world. 

The track athletes nominated today boast a stellar resume, including a combined 15 Olympic medals and 36 World Athletics Championships or World Athletics Relays medals. Returning stars include Canada’s most decorated male summer Olympic medallist, Andre De Grasse, and his fellow members of the Tokyo 2020 silver medal-winning and 2022 world champion 4x100 metre relay team, as well as 800 metre world champion Marco Arop. The team also boasts a strong contingent of athletes making their Olympic debut in Paris, including breakthrough sprinter Audrey Leduc, 400 metre record-breaker Christopher Morales Williams, and 100 metre hurdler Mariam Abdul-Rashid.

De Grasse, owner of six Olympic medals and five world championship medals, has qualified in the men's 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metre relay. At the 2024 World Athletics Relays, De Grasse and his teammates earned an Olympic quota spot in the relay for Paris 2024. Paris 2024 will mark the third Olympic appearance for De Grasse, the defending Olympic champion in the men’s 200 metres.

“I’ll just use my experience to my advantage. I know what to expect. I know what I have to do. Every Olympic Games are different, but from my first one, then a pandemic in my second one, I’m just going to go out there, remain focused, and remember all the things that got me there,” he said. “My advice to everyone going to their first Olympics is to enjoy the moment, have fun, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just remember that your family, your friends, everyone is rooting for you and supporting you. Use that as your momentum to get through the Games.

Leduc has had an outstanding 2024 season, setting Canadian records in both the women's 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as being part of the women’s 4x100 metre relay team that qualified Canada in the event for Paris 2024 at the 2024 World Athletics Relays.

“I did not see this coming. I was hoping to qualify for the relay and the 100 metres via the World Ranking, but I didn’t expect the 200 metres too,” Leduc said. “I’ve done the Quebec Games and the Canada Games, and the Olympic Games is just the big thing, every four years. I’m just excited to get there, represent Canada as best I can, and run fast. On the track said, I want to qualify for the finals. On the personal side, I want to collect as many pins as I can!”

Marco Arop enters his second Olympic Games as the reigning world champion in the men’s 800 metres. The Canadian record holder in the event is coming off a dominant performance at the 2024 Bell Track & Field Trials, securing his nomination with a national title and a Championship record time of 1:43:53.

Other track luminaries going to Paris include Olympic 5000 metres silver medallist Mohammed Ahmed, middle distance maven Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, and women’s relay teams in both the 4x100 metres and 4x400 metres.

Canada was labeled a hammer throw nation at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, with Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg winning the women’s and men’s titles, respectively. The field event athletes for Paris 2024 also include 2024 World Indoor Champion Sarah Mitton, who earned gold in the women’s shot put this past March after taking silver at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. She owns the world-leading mark in the women’s shot put this year. 

“Tokyo was just my second senior team and it was a learning experience in every regard. A lot has changed in a good way. We’ve grown so much as a team,” said Rogers. “To know that I will be able to look out into the stands and see so many people that I hold near and dear to my heart is going to be amazing. Having all that love and support coming in, I couldn’t be more excited. We’re going to Paris to throw really far and fight to the very end.” 

“We’re focusing on the training now – keeping our heads down, staying focused and hoping for a good outcome in Paris,” said Katzberg, who in April had the longest hammer throw in the world since 2008. “It’s exciting,” he said about the recent unprecedented success of Canadian hammer throwers. “Having Camryn up there, as well, is incredible timing. Seeing us continue to grow and improve helps keep me going.”

Far from being just a throwing nation, Alysha Newman and Anicka Newell return to compete in the women’s pole vault.

Canada can also lay claim to two of the best decathletes in the world. Damian Warner returns to the Olympic Games as defending decathlon champion after setting a new Olympic record in the event and having the honour of being selected as Team Canada's Flag Bearer for the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony.

“To go back to the Olympics for a fourth time is a privilege. Not everyone gets to do that, so I don’t take it lightly. I feel like I’m in great shape and ready to go. I’m looking forward to getting back there and defending my title,” Warner said. “We have such a strong team. To me, one of the coolest things is that we have athletes in so many different sports. The team is awesome. It’s so well-rounded and I’m excited to get out there and represent alongside them.” 

Warner is joined by reigning world champion Pierce LePage, who enters Paris 2024 looking to claim his first Olympic medal. They finished 1-2 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. 

The streets of Paris will also feature a squad of decorated marathon runners and race walkers, nominated earlier this year, including Olympic bronze medallist Evan Dunfee and Olivia Lundman in the race walk, and Cameron Levins, Rory Linkletter, and Malindi Elmore in the men’s and women’s marathon events, respectively.

The Canadian athletics team in Paris will look to build off what was arguably Canada’s best performance in Olympic athletics history, three years ago in Tokyo. The team returned to Canada with two Olympic champions (Warner and De Grasse) and six medals overall (Ahmed, men’s 4x100 metre relay, Dunfee, and De Grasse). Canada also finished fifth out of 70 countries on the World Athletics Placing Table, which ranks countries by top 8 finishes.

“The recent Bell Track & Field Trials in Montreal demonstrated to me that our best athletes are ready for Paris. I really enjoyed watching our World and Olympic medallists put on a show for the crowd. I was also proud to see newer names to the Canadian public showing their class, having breakthrough performances and pushing their way onto the Paris team,” said Athletics Canada’s High Performance Director, Simon Nathan. “When I think that this group will be joined at the Games by other athletes who couldn’t be in Montreal such as World and Olympic medallist Evan Dunfee (20k race walk), World Champion Pierce LePage (Decathlon) and World Championships Marathon fourth placer Cam Levins – well let’s just say that I’m just looking forward to a great Games. From here on in, my focus will be on supporting every athlete that we nominate so that each and every one is ready to “perform on demand” on the big stage in Paris.”

Track and field will take place August 2 to 10 (Days 7 to 15) at the Stade de France. The men’s 20km race walk will take place on August 1 (Day 6) and the marathon race walk mixed relay will take place on August 7 (Day 12), both in the Trocadero District. The men’s marathon is scheduled for August 10 (Day 15) and the women’s marathon on August 11 (Day 16). The marathons will both start at the Hôtel de Ville and finish at les Invalides.

"It is a huge honour for me to congratulate the Canadian Olympic Athletics Team on their way to Paris 2024. This group, composed of veterans and young rookies, is constantly pushing the boundaries of athletic performance. Every sprint, every jump, and every throw is a testament to their relentless pursuit of excellence, fuelled by the pride of representing the nation on the world stage," said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. "The performances of these athletes at the Bell Track and Field Trials this past weekend captured our attention and hold great promise for Paris 2024. I am very eager to cheer them on and see Team Canada triumph this summer. Go, Team Canada!"

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.

The following additional athletes are also subject to World Athletics Invitation, to be announced on Sunday, July 7th.  Athletes are ordered by event, then by rank within event: 

Jacqueline MADOGO Women's 100m
Sade MCCREATH Women's 100m
Crystal EMMANUEL-AHYE Women's 100m
Grace KONRAD Women's 400m
Madeline PRICE Women's 400m
Kyra CONSTANTINE Women's 400m
Aiyanna STIVERNE Women's 400m
Alyssa MARSH Women's 400m
Aurora RYNDA Women's 800m
Madeleine KELLY Women's 800m
Kate CURRENT Women's 1500m
Briana SCOTT Women's 5000m
Gabriela DEBUES-STAFFORD Women's 5000m
Julie-Anne STAEHLI Women's 5000m
Gracelyn LARKIN Women's 5000m
Erin TESCHUK Women's 5000m
Tatiana AHOLOU Women's 100mH
Sage WALKER Women's 400mH
Brooke OVERHOLT Women's 400mH
Grace FETHERSTONHAUGH Women's 3000mSC
Jessica FURLAN Women's 3000mSC
Marguerite LORENZO Women's High Jump
Heather ABADIE Women's Pole Vault
Rachel HYINK Women's Pole Vault
Grace TENNANT Women's Shot Put
Liv SANDS Women's Shot Put
Julia TUNKS Women's Discus Throw
Agnes ESSER Women's Discus Throw
Rachel ANDRES Women's Discus Throw
Kaila BUTLER Women's Hammer Throw
Jillian WEIR Women's Hammer Throw
Michael ROTH Men's 400m
Zakary MAMA-YARI Men's 800m
Abdullahi HASSAN Men's 800m
Matthew ERICKSON Men's 800m
Cameron PROCEVIAT Men's 1500m
Foster MALLECK Men's 1500m
Craig THORNE Men's 110mH
Justin ROSE Men's 400mH
Kevin ROBERTSON Men's 3000mSC
Aaron AHL Men's 3000mSC
John GAY Men's 3000mSC
Jordan MACINTOSH Men's 3000mSC
Noel VANDERZEE Men's High Jump
Olorunfemi AKINDURO Men's Triple Jump
Praise ANIAMAKA Men's Triple Jump
Mark BUJNOWSKI Men's Shot Put
Youssef KOUDSSI Men's Discus Throw
Jeremiah NUBBE Men's Discus Throw

(Source: Media Release, Athletics Canada, Ottawa, ON, July 2, 2024; Photo: SWSCD)