It was in a nearly full Stade de France that sprinter Audrey Leduc won the first round of the 100 metres with a time of 10.95 s. She also set a new Canadian record by beating her own time by one hundredth of a second. “I wanted to set a personal best. I did it!”
In Louisiana, on April 20, the runner from Gatineau became the fastest sprinter in Canadian history with a time of 10.96. She also surpassed Angela Bailey who had held this prestigious title since 1987.
Each time she beats her own times, she will write Canadian history by setting a new mark for the country to beat.
It was a proud Audrey Leduc who appeared before the media. “You’re all here!” she said, surprised to see the delegation of Quebec journalists. Seeming serene and confident, she was already thinking about tomorrow’s semi-final. “I want to execute. I experienced it today, so it’s only right to be able to do it again, but better,” said the sprinter.
Even though these are her first Olympic Games, Audrey Leduc is keeping her cool. “I’m ready. I was really looking forward to running.” In recent weeks, the athlete has worked hard, particularly on her starts from the block, with her coach Fabrice Akué, with whom she has been training since 2019. “The goal was also to come and feel the track [pour les prochaines étapes]. To do it in front of my loved ones, the crowd, I will be even more ready for tomorrow.”
A rising star
The psychology graduate will therefore face the fastest in the world tomorrow in the semi-finals, including the world’s number one, Sha’carri Richardson. The American’s personal best time of 10.63 seconds was set at the world championships in August 2023.
Audrey Leduc believes, however, that she has not yet finished showing us what she is capable of and says she is ready to eclipse her best results once again. “That’s the beauty of the Games,” she says with a smile. In less than a year, she has managed to shave off four tenths of a second, thus revealing her to the general public.
In the space of a few months, all the media attention has turned to her. “We’re talking about a diamond in the rough. You just have to take the time to develop it,” her coach Fabrice Akué told us in June.
The main event in the largest stadium in France
The athletics track on which 46 of the 48 athletics events take place impresses with its purple color, but especially with its speed since it was designed to reduce the athlete’s energy loss. “It’s fast,” confirms Audrey Leduc.
In a stadium that can accommodate more than 80,000 people, you have to be focused. Nothing to destabilize Audrey Leduc. The athlete likes to hear the crowd to mentally prepare for her performance. “I wanted to savor the moment,” she says.
In addition to her semi-final on Saturday, Audrey Leduc will also try to make it through the first round of the 200 metres on Sunday, an event in which she also holds the Canadian record with a time of 22.36 seconds. She will also be part of the women’s 4 x 100 metres relay quartet on August 8.