It was an Olympics to remember at Tokyo 2020 as Team Canada captured an impressive 24 medals. It’s the most medals Canadians have won in a non-boycotted Games and the seven gold medals tied the amount earned by the nation at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Of the 24 medals, six were achieved in the sport of Athletics, highlighted by three from Andre De Grasse and a gold in the Men’s Decathlon for Damian Warner.
De Grasse got his Olympic games started with a bronze medal in the Men’s 100m. The 26-year-old from Markham, Ont., overcame a rough start and finished with a personal-best time of 9.89 seconds. It also marked Canada’s first medal won by a man after Canada’s women brought home the first 13.
De Grasse followed up his bronze with his first ever gold in the Men’s 200m. In doing so he set a National Record of 19.62s while also capturing Canada’s first gold in a sprint event since Donovan Bailey at the 1996 Olympics. Joining De Grasse in the 200m final was Toronto’s Aaron Brown who crossed the finish line in sixth with a time of 20.20s.
Both De Grasse and Brown were back on the track a day later as the Men’s 4x100m relays got underway. The two of them, combined with Kelowna, BC’s Jerome Blake and Etobicoke, Ontario’s Brendon Rodney, paced Canada to another bronze medal with a time of 37.70 seconds. With his third medal of the games, De Grasse has medalled in every Olympic event he has competed in, six, making him the most decorated male Olympian in Canadian history.
Damian Warner was another Canadian who made history at Tokyo 2020. The London, ON native captured Canada’s first ever gold in the Men’s Decathlon. Warner capped off the 10-discipline event with a fifth-place finish in the 1,500-metre race, cementing his place in history with a total of 9,018 points, setting an Olympic record. He joins a shortlist of athletes to break the 9,000 points as only three other athletes ever have reached that mark. Pierce Lepage, of Whitby, ON, finished 5th in the decathlon with a points total of 8,604, a solid showing at his first Olympic Games.
St. Catharines, ON native Mohammed Ahmed put his name in the Canadian record books as he delivered Canada’s first Olympic medal in the Men’s 5,000m. Finishing second, Ahmed crossed the line with a time of 12:58.61. The medal capped off a tremendous stretch for Ahmed. At the 2019 World Championships, he finished with a bronze medal, which was also Canada’s first world championship medal in a distance event. Last summer, he was able to knock 11-seconds off his own Canadian record with a time 12:47.20, setting a North American record in the process. Joining Ahemed in the 5,000m was Toronto’s Justyn Knight who crossed the line 7th with a time of 13:04.38.
Richmond, BC’s Evan Dunfee captured Canada’s sixth medal in Athletics with a bronze in the Men’s 50k race walk. He crossed the line with a time of three hours, 50 minutes and 59 seconds.
The Stafford sisters paced the way for Canada in the Women’s 1500m. Gabriela Debues-Stafford finished 5th in the event with a time of 3:58.93 while her younger sister Lucia Stafford ran a personal best time of 4:02.12 in the semi-finals just missing out on qualifying for the finals in her first Olympics.
In the Women’s 4x400m relay the team of Alicia Brown, Madeline Price, Kyra Constantine and Sage Watson finished fourth with a tremendous effort of 3:21.84s just narrowly missing out on a podium finish.
Congratulations to all our amazing athletes, and see below to find how all our athletes did.
| Name | Event | Placement |
| Andre De Grasse | M 200m, M 100m | 1st, 3rd |
| Damian Warner | M Decathlon | 1st |
| Mohammed Ahmed | M 5000m, M 10k | 2nd, 6th |
| Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney | M 4x100m Relay | 3rd |
| Alicia Brown, Madeline Price, Kyra Constantine, Sage Watson | W 4x400m Relay | 4th |
| Pierce Lepage | M Decathlon | 5th |
| Gabriela Debues-Stafford | W 1500m | 5th |
| Aaron Brown | M 200m | 6th |
| Matthew Hughes | M Steeplechase | 6th |
| Djano Lovett | M High Jump | 6th |
| Justyn Knight | M 5000m | 7th |
| Lucia Stafford | W 1500m | 13th |
| Andrea Seccafien | W 10K, W 5000m | 14th, 15th |
| Anicka Newell | W Pole Vault | 14th |
| Kyra Constantine | W 400m | 15th |
| Crystal Emmanuel | W 100m, W 200m | 16th, 18th |
| Khamica Bingham | W 100m | 18th |
| Jillian Weir | W Hammer Throw | Round 1 |
| Brittany Crew | W Shot Put | Round 1 |
| Alysha Newman | W Pole Vault | Round 1 |
| Tim Nedow | M Shot Put | Round 1 |
| Sarah Mitton | W Shot Put | Round 1 |
| Bismark Boateng | M 100m | Heats |
| Natassha McDonald | W 400m | Heats |
| Gavin Smellie | M 100m | Heats |
| Julie-Anne Staehli | W 5000m | Heats |
| Brandon McBride | M 800m | Heats |
| Kate Van Buskirk | W 5000m | Heats |
| Noelle Montcalm | W 400m Hurdles | Heats |
| Madeline Kelly | W 800m | Heats |
| Melissa Bishop-Nriagu | W 800m | Heats |
The 2020 Paralympic Games are set to get underway in Tokyo on August 24th. Six spectacular athletes will be representing Ontario in Para Athletics. Get to know them here and get set to cheer them on as they go for gold!
