Canadians end on a high note
Men’s relay gold shows team can win without injured star De Grasse
Aaron Brown had tried to forget about his surprise loss in Sunday afternoon’s 200-metre final, but then he took the baton to start the anchor leg of the 4x100-metre relay and saw a Barbadian runner half a stride ahead, prompting a thought that flashed through Brown’s mind in a split second.
“I’m not going to lose twice in one day,” Brown said.
The Scarborough native ran down his rival, then ran away from him to seal a gold medal for Canada’s relay team at the North American Central American and Caribbean Championships. As he celebrated, fellow Canadian sprinter Crystal Emmanuel called out to him from the stands nearby.
“That’s what’s up!” shouted Emmanuel, who won silver and bronze medals Sunday.
The men’s relay gold capped a weekend meet organizers hailed as a success. Injuries stripped the event of its star power; Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse shut down his season after pulling his hamstring in July. But Team Canada head coach Glenroy Gilbert said the win in the sprint relay without De Grasse illustrated the program’s depth, and the importance of events like the NACAC Championships.
“This provided an opportunity for some of the younger athletes to step up, to get some international experience,” Gilbert said. “Whenever athletes can win medals and feel like they’re actually achieving something at an international competition, it’s a good feeling. So we just take it to the next level moving forward.”
Organizers acknowledged the event struggled to overcome the absence of world-class performers like De Grasse and Elaine Thompson, the Jamaican sprint star who scratched from the women’s 100 metres after an injury last week.
Athletics Canada, which organized the meet, placed De Grasse at the centre of its marketing campaign and priced tickets accordingly. Even entering this weekend, premium seats at Varsity Stadium cost $150 per session. But CEO Mat Gentes says Athletics Canada cut ticket prices when De Grasse dropped out of the meet, and offered rebates or free merchandise to people who had already paid full price.
Organizers say roughly 2,500 spectators showed up Friday night, and estimated nearly twice as many attended a Saturday session headlined by Ja- maican Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Gentes says athlete attrition hurt advance sales, but says strong walk-up crowds are an encouraging sign.
“We’d like this championship to come back here again,” Gentes said.
“We’d like another crack at it, because we’ve learned a ton … in terms of how we would package this. We were probably a little aggressive on the ticket price, but that was based on all of our top guys being healthy. Obviously, that didn’t happen for us.”
Emmanuel says she and other Canadian runners noticed the abundance of support in the stands, and wanted to thank the fans by delivering big results.
After capturing bronze in the 100 on Saturday, Emmanuel won silver in the 200 Sunday afternoon. Less than two hours after that race, she returned to run the second leg on a 4x100 relay team that finished third among three teams.
But while medals are relative to competition, the numbers Emmanuel put up this weekend are bigger absolute achievements.
Her 11.11 second result in the 100-metre final was a new personal best, and the fourth-fastest time in Canadian history, according to Athletics Canada’s online rankings. And her 22.67second finish in the 200 metres was her fastest time of the season, and her best result since breaking the national record last summer.
“I would have wanted a (personal best) but I can only do what my body tells me to do,” said Emmanuel, who ran five races in three days. “I came out with a season’s best and I’m happy … I came out healthy with three medals, so it was a success.”
Brown, meanwhile, said Sunday offered a chance to practise rebounding from disappointment. He raced to relay gold hours after faltering in his 200metre final.
Before the meet, Brown identified the final 50 metres as the most important segment of a 200-metre race. Sunday, the 26-year-old slowed in the home stretch as Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyle Greaux held his form and won gold.
“The good thing is, it gives me more motivation,” Brown said.
“I can’t ever be complacent … I just have added motivation to finish the season strong.”
“This provided an opportunity for some of the younger athletes to step up, to get some international experience.” GLENROY GILBERT TEAM CANADA HEAD COACH