Canadian track bound for most thrilling nationals in years

Canada’s fastest weekend of the year is here. The 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships kick off Thursday evening at Ottawa’s Terry Fox Stadium, with national titles and tickets to September’s World Athletics Championships on the line. For many, it’s do-or-die: their final chance to hit the qualifying standard or earn enough World Athletics points to make Team Canada.

How to qualify for the Tokyo World Championships: Canadian athletes must either hit the world standard or earn enough World Athletics ranking points to qualify through the quota system. Each country can enter up to three athletes per event–but for Canada, those athletes must also compete at nationals and finish in the top three to secure their spot. (If an athlete with standard or a quota spot misses the top three, they can still make the team–provided less than three athletes ahead of them are eligible).

Sutherland leads the women’s 400m

The clear favourite for 400m gold is Borden, Sask.’s Savannah Sutherland–the newly-signed Adidas pro, Olympic finalist and Canadian record holder in the 400m hurdles and indoor 400m. Although she finished third at nationals last year, the 23-year-old has levelled up this season: her 50.62 seconds from Edmonton is the only sub-51-second mark in the country and is well under the world standard. She already has the qualifying mark in her signature 400m hurdles as well.

Behind her, three women will be fighting for podium spots–and for a potential spot on Team Canada.

Ottawa’s Lauren Gale, last year’s runner-up, comes in with a season’s best of 51.00
Reigning national champion Zoe Sherar of Toronto, enters with a 51.30.
Edmonton’s rising star Dianna Proctor, who, at only 20, also holds a shiny new personal best of 51.30–alongside last year’s world U20 silver medal and three U Sports golds from her rookie year at the University of Guelph.

Deepest women’s 1,500m field in recent memory

This may be one of the strongest women’s 1,500m field ever assembled at nationals. Two-time Olympian and national record holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford leads the way, fresh off an astounding comeback season and the only woman in the field with world standard (4:01.19). She’s also the top-ranked athlete in the 5,000m–in which she also holds world standard (14:47.83).

The fight for the remaining two team spots–between last year’s podium finishers–will be undoubtedly fierce:

Montreal’s Simone Plourde enters with a massive 4:02.91 personal best (nearly three seconds faster than her last year’s time), making her this year’s second-fastest Canadian woman over 1,500m. Last year’s silver medallist Kate Current of Cobourg, Ont., is coming in off a recent breakthrough of 4:03.06. Toronto’s Lucia Stafford, who has gone undefeated at the Canadian championships for the past three years, rounds out the top four with her season’s best of 4:03.54.

A possible new champion for the men’s 100m

For the first time in nearly a decade, the men’s 100m title might be up for grabs. Between Markham, Ont.’s Andre De Grasse and Toronto’s Aaron Brown, the duo have won every year since 2016–but both enter outside Canada’s top two this season.

Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., leads the rankings with the only sub-10 and world-qualifying time in the country (9.97). Close behind is Ottawa’s Eliezer Adjibi (10.02), last year’s silver medallist. Brown (10.05) and De Grasse (10.15) are lurking in third and fifth, respectively–but both have a history of delivering when it counts. All four men are also entered in the 200m.

A wide open men’s 1,500m

Like the women’s 400m, the men’s 1,500m truly is anyone’s race. Reigning champion Kieran Lumb of Vancouver returns, coming off a major coaching change. He’ll be joined by Olympian Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (Quebec City ) and rising stars Foster Malleck (Kitchener, Ont.), and Max Davies (Toronto).

The surprise entry? Marco Arop, 800m Olympic silver medallist and reigning world champion, who’s nearly doubling his signature distance. While Arop won’t contest the 1,500m at worlds–he’s already in for the 800m–his presence could shake up the points race for everyone else.