This weekend, some of Canada’s top athletes are in Edmonton for the Warmup to Worlds meet.
The 14-event, World Athletics Silver Category meet is meant to help those who qualified for the 2022 World Athletics Championship to stay sharp as they prepare to travel to Eugene in mid-July.
Starting Sunday at 1:30 p.m. MDT at Edmonton’s Foote Field, a number of Canadian athletes will contend for medals and bragging rights against international calibre competitors from across the world.
You can check out the meet schedule and live results HERE, buy tickets HERE, or watch it all live HERE. For now, here is a preview of five events that are shaping up to be particularly nail-biting.
Five events to Watch
1- Sarah Mitton takes on the world in the shotput circle
The 26-year-old Mitton entered the limelight earlier this year when she broke the Canadian indoor and outdoor shotput records. Since then, the gleam has just gotten brighter: Mitton became Canadian shot-put champion in late June by throwing 20.33 metres, another Canadian record, and the #3 throw in the world this year. Four days later, she travelled to Stockholm Diamond League, finishing second and winning her first ever Diamond League medal.
Now, a seasoned Mitton returns to Canada to take on a six-person field in Edmonton, which includes Canada’s #2-ranked shot-putter Brittany Crew, and World #12-ranked Maddison Wesche of New Zealand.
2- The Canadian 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m champions and the indoor mile record holder square off in one race against an Olympic medalist
Local star and 2022 Canadian 800m champion Marco Arop will headline the half-mile field, but that isn’t to say that the victory will come easily. While the 24-year-old’s personal best of 1:43.26 makes him the fastest Canadian on the start list, he will face a fleet of athletes who know how to win. The Canadian 1,500m champion Robert Heppenstall and the national champion in the 5,000m Charles Philibert-Thiboutot will line up next to Arop, and Canada’s indoor mile record holder Cameron Proceviat will also try his hand at the two-lap race.
And while the race between Canadians promises to be thrilling, the top seed time of 1:42.93 belongs to American Clayton Murphy: the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and a proven gamer.
3 - 100m: SUb-11 and sub-10 are in the cards
There are few better spectacles in track and field than seeing a woman run under 11 seconds or a man break the 10-second barrier, and we could be treated to both this weekend. A pair of Americans on the start list have already dipped under the mark: World Championship 4x100m gold medalist Mike Rodgers has covered the distance in 9.85 seconds, while his compatriot Cravont Charleston has already hit 9.98.
On the women’s side, four Americans have seed times between 10.95 and 10.99. Their presence on the start line could propel Canada’s fastest active sprinter Crystal Emmanuel, seeded at 11.11, to new heights.
4 - Katzberg and co. to put on a hammer show
A trio of Canadian men – Rowan Hamilton, Adam Keenan and Ethan Katzberg – are emerging from the shadow of Tokyo Olympian and Canadian hammer record holder Camryn Rogers and making names for themselves in the hammer-throwing world. On Sunday, they will figure in a stiff field of seven men, headlined by the #5-ranked thrower in the world: Daniel Haugh of the United States, who has tossed for more than 80 metres this year.
5 - Jazz Shukla chases down the sub-2
Toronto’s Jazz Shukla made a big jump this year by lowering her 800m PB from 2:04.52 to 2:01.90, and Sunday’s race is set up perfectly for her to build on that momentum and become the ninth woman in national history to dip under the 2:00 barrier. The race is set up to be fast, with Americans Charlene Lipsey and Heather MacLean coming in with seed times of 1:57.38 and 1:59.72. Shukla could also have some Canadian competition from the likes of 2:02.78 athlete Adrea Propp.
