Canadian stars to contest World Athletics Ultimate

The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships begin in Budapest on Friday, September 11, running through September 13. The event features a total prize purse of US$10 million and will see a strong contingent of Canadian record holders and champions competing.

The relay squad

Canada enters as a strong contender in the 4x100m mixed relay, which opens the meeting on Friday. The team is ranked third in the field with a season's best of 40.07 seconds. The squad of Eliezer Adjibi, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Duan Asemota and Audrey Leduc qualified for the 2027 World Championships with a 40.30-second performance in Gaborone, Botswana, in May. They finished behind Jamaica, which set a world record of 39.62 seconds. According to the source, it could take close to that time for Canada to claim the win in Budapest. While Team Canada has qualified, its exact lineup for the championships remains uncertain.

Women's contingent

Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., could run in the mixed relay and is also entered in the women's 100m. Although she qualified for the 200m, she has opted to compete only in the 100m and the relay. This may be her last opportunity to reclaim her 100m national record from Sadé McCreath of Ajax, Ont., who is also in the field.

McCreath broke the Canadian 100m record in Edmonton in July with a 10.86-second run, taking Leduc's mark by 0.08 seconds. However, she has not run under 11 seconds since and has finished second to Leduc in both of their meetings this year. The two record holders will now race each other in one of the strongest 100m fields assembled this season.

The men's squad

Two Canadian sprint stars will line up in the men's 200m: national record holder Andre De Grasse of Scarborough and reigning Canadian champion Aaron Brown of Toronto.

De Grasse opened the season with a season's best of 19.84 seconds in April but has broken 20 seconds only once since. He ran a 100m time of 9.96 seconds in Silesia before clocking 20.03 in the 200m in Zurich. Brown won his 13th Canadian title in the 200m in June, clocking 20.33. He also placed fourth in the 200m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

In the 400m, Christopher Morales Williams of Vaughan, Ont., will compete. He appears to be back in form after a 44.44-second win in Bellinzona, Switzerland, on August 30. Canadian fans will hope to see a repeat of his gold-medal performance at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

He will line up alongside rivals Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya and Djamel Sedjati of Algeria. Arop was dealing with an Achilles injury in early August and struggled in the Diamond League final, but with a week of rest, fans will hope to see him challenge for the top spot.