(Saint-Denis) Audrey Leduc isn’t always the fastest. The Gatineau sprinter was the last to race down the mixed zone ramp to join her compatriots and celebrate the gold medal in the men’s relay on Friday night.
Fifteen minutes earlier, the Canadian relay team may not have made history in the 4 x 100 m, but in finishing sixth – following Switzerland’s disqualification – it was Canada’s best result in the event since a silver medal at the boycotted 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Authors of a Canadian record in the semi-final the day before (42.50 s), Sadé McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Éloïse Leclair and Leduc this time stopped the clock at 42.69 s in a final played in the rain.
“It’s really a great race, a great experience, even if the time was slower than in qualifying,” said Leduc. “It’s about practicing as a team, being able to perform at the same level in the second race. It’s the first year that the four of us are together, it’s an Olympic debut. It’s just about keeping all this energy, this adrenaline, it will make us grow for the next world championships.”
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Audrey Leduc
After “a little moment of panic” over a laborious transmission with McCreath, Madogo headed towards Leclair who “set off aggressively, thinking only of Audrey”. The two Quebecers had agreed to delay the handover a little to allow Leduc to take off better.
“I never lost hope that I would catch her and I trusted her,” Leclair said. “We had an extraordinary finish to the race thanks to her too. I’m really proud of us and everything we accomplished. This is only the second time we’ve raced together and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Third in her segment with 10.27 s, Leduc was a little less quick than the day before (10.04 s), but she nevertheless overtook her Dutch competitor to move Canada up one place.
The country’s sixth-place finish marks progress from its last Olympic appearance in 2016. “We all felt the disappointment of not making it to the world championships last year,” Madogo said. “Not only did we qualify for the Olympics, we made it to the finals. It’s really a good step forward for the program.”
In 2022, Leclair and Leduc exchanged the baton – a little less well! – at the Canada Games in Niagara Falls, en route to a provincial and competition record. “If we had been told that we would make it to the Olympic Games and even more so to the final, we would not have believed our two ears!” exclaimed Leclair.
The men’s victory is a source of inspiration for the women runners, who, with the exception of McCreath, are 25 or younger.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Sadé McCreath
“Honestly, there’s not really a word that can describe what they accomplished,” Leduc said. “It just goes to show that anything can happen in the Olympic relay final.”
Leclair, 21, echoed the sentiment, noting that the two groups have been working closely together this year in training and competition.
It’s not true that it’s always perfect, always beautiful. Even though they are Olympic champions, they also have their obstacles to overcome.
Marie-Eloise Leclair
Leduc therefore concludes her first Games with two individual semi-finals, a relay final and two national records. These are in addition to her 200 m mark achieved in the spring. She was not ready to take stock of her first Olympic experience.
“It’s going to take energy and time to try to achieve what I’ve accomplished this year.”
Nothing has been decided, but Canada’s new fastest woman did not rule out the relay final being her last race of the season.
Final ranking
Or. United States (41.78 seconds)
Silver. Great Britain (41.85 seconds)
Bronze. Germany (41.97 seconds)
6. Canada (42.69 seconds)