LANGLEY, B.C. — The Canadian men's 4x100-metre relay team received its Olympic silver medals Saturday at the Canadian national trials in a medal reallocation ceremony.
The quartet of Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney and Jerome Blake had initially earned bronze in the event at the Tokyo Games two years ago.
However, an official upgrade came in May 2022 following the disqualification of the British team due to a doping violation by team member CJ Ujah.
The group received the upgraded medals at McLeod Stadium in Langley in front of cheering fans, with the original Tokyo race broadcast on the big screen display before the presentation.
"I forgot how heavy this was," said Brown while lifting the medal following the ceremony.
"When we were in Tokyo there wasn't a lot of fans or a lot of support so it was pretty empty. You could hear an echo in there. Here, our fans, our people that support us — our families are here, our friends our here — it's a special moment to relive it and do it the right way."
De Grasse — a six-time Olympic medallist and the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 — failed to qualify for the 100 final on Friday and Brown won his fifth consecutive national title.
De Grasse is scheduled to compete in the men's 200 on Sunday alongside Brown and Rodney.
"Just coming out here, being on home soil in front of my family, in front of my friends, in front of the fans, it's an amazing feeling. We didn't get that opportunity in Tokyo because of the pandemic so it kind of feels like a surreal feeling to get it on home soil," said De Grasse about the ceremony and new silver medal.
The team is planning on holding a training camp in Barcelona ahead of the world championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.
Craig Thorne, from New Brunswick, won the gold medal in the men's 110-metre hurdles final with Olympian Damian Warner finishing second after failing to qualify for the 400 on Friday.
"It's a long time coming," Thorne said. "I haven't managed to win a big race like that in a while. I can't even get my head wrapped around what just happened."
Warner is competing in individual events at the national trials instead of the decathlon, where he is the reigning Olympic champion.
Olympian Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., won the women's shot put with a throw of 19.69 metres.
"The consistency was there," she said. "The crowd here is amazing. The clapping and cheering really brings a big energy."
Mitton has one more meet in Memphis, Tenn., before heading to the world championships in mid-August.
Alysha Newman of London, Ont., took home gold in the women's pole vault, finishing way ahead of her competitors with a final height of 4.73 metres. Anicka Newell and Heather Abadie finished second and third with heights of 4.46 and 4.21 metres, respectively.
Marco Arop won the men's 800-metres title with a time of 1:44.64. Arop represented Canada in the 2020 Olympic Games and is the world bronze medallist in the 800.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
