Watson

When it comes to being Canada’s premier hurdler, Sage Watson is relentless, reliable and consistent. For years now, the 27-year-old University of Arizona graduate has been taking aim at longstanding Canadian records in her events, which include the 400 metres and 400-metre hurdles.

Competing on one of the sport’s biggest stages, Watson achieved one of those goals, surpassing Rosey Edeh’s Canadian record of 54.39 seconds in the 400-metre hurdles at the 2019 World Championships, which had stood since 1996. She closed out a fast season by setting a new personal best in the 4x400-metre relay with teammates Alicia Brown, Aiyanna-Brigitte Stiverne and Madeline Price.

The 2019 season also saw Watson claim Pan American Games gold in the 400-metre hurdles and silver in the 4x400-metre relay with teammates Natassha McDonald, Stiverne and Kyra Constantine.

In February of 2018, Watson opened her indoor season with panache, running a 37.08-second time in the 300 metres at the Millrose Games, finishing second and wiping out Jillian Richardson’s 30-year mark of 37.17 seconds in that seldom-run event.

Watson ran 54.52 seconds to win the 400-metre hurdle title at the 2017 NCAA Div. I Championships. And she put up a time of 54.55 seconds in finishing third in the event at the Bislett Games Diamond League meet in June of 2018. She followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League event, then a third-place result at the top circuit’s event in Shanghai, China.

At one stretch in her 2017 season, Watson won 13 straight 400-metre hurdle races, a streak that included both the Canadian and NCAA Div. I titles.

But this sort of consistent excellence has been on offer from Watson for a while. In 2013, as captain of the Canadian team, Watson won gold in the 400-metre hurdles, silver in the 4x400-metre relay and bronze in the 400 metres at the Junior Pan American Track and Field Championships.

Watson has also been a mainstay on Canada’s 4x400-metre relay team, anchoring Canada to a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Toronto in July 2015. She helped Canada’s women to an impressive fourth-place finish in the relay at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and a seventh-place result at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Beijing. Recently, the 4x400-metre relay team placed fourth at the 2019 IAAF World Relays in Japan, with Watson once again serving as the team’s anchor.

Without much of a 2020 competitive season, Watson was back at it in the 2021 lead-up to Tokyo, scoring podium performances in the United States in both the 400 metres and the 400-metre hurdles. With a track record of coming up big on the world stage, what does she have in store for her second Olympic Games?