While in Stockholm on Sunday, as part of a stop on the Diamond League circuit, Jean-Simon Desgagnés recorded his best time of the season in the 3000m steeplechase, covering the distance in 8 min 15.95 s.
The Quebecer was the eighth runner to cross the finish line of this race won by the Ethiopian Lamecha Girma (8 minutes 1.63 seconds). His compatriot Samuel Firewu (8 minutes 5.78 seconds) followed in second place and Tunisian Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui (8 minutes 10.41 seconds) finished third.
Desgagnés, who is aiming for Olympic qualification for the Paris Games this summer, only came within a few tenths of a second of his personal best achieved in the final of the 2023 World Championships, where he finished eighth in 8 min 15.58 s.
Well established in the world top -20 in the 3000m steeplechase, the 25-year-old athlete finds himself in a good position to obtain his ticket to the French capital. In total, 36 athletes, for a maximum of three per nation, will be invited to the big meeting.
Athletes having achieved the Olympic standard of 8 min 15 s as well as those best positioned in the world rankings will obtain the coveted invitation.
Also in action in Sweden, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot also distinguished himself. He finished seventh in the 1500m with a time of 3:34.95.
The German Robert Farken (3 minutes 33.53 seconds) won, followed at the finish by the Irishman Luke McCann (3 minutes 33.66 seconds) and the Italian Federico Riva (3 minutes 33.87 seconds).
This is Philibert-Thiboutot’s second best time of the season, after that recorded in Ostrava, Czech Republic, earlier this week (3 minutes 34.5 seconds).
Remember that the Quebecer managed a time of 3 min 33.29 s in July 2023, in Poland, to reach the qualifying standard for the Paris Olympic Games.
Another Canadian record for Audrey Leduc
For her part, Audrey Leduc was in Atlanta this weekend to take part in the Edwin Moses Legends Meeting. Friday, the Gatinoise continued her dazzling streak of success by winning the 200 m, a Canadian record thanks to her time of 22.36 s.
What’s more, she also reached the Olympic standard set at 22.57.
Leduc also signed a new Canadian mark in the 100m last April with a time of 10.96 seconds, also allowing him to meet the qualification criterion for Paris (11.07 seconds).
A few weeks later, at the relay worlds in the Bahamas, she helped Canada earn an Olympic berth for the women’s 4 x 100m relay.
Leduc, Desgagnés and Philibert-Thiboutot will continue their preparation in the country over the coming weeks. They will all be in Montreal, from June 26 to 30, to compete in the Canadian Olympic Trials.