Team Canada closed out the 2024 Paris Olympics with 27 medals as records were broken and new athletes burst onto the international stage.

The Canadian Track and Field League saw eleven of its athletes – and two ambassadors – featured at athletics’ ultimate competition. Here’s a look at how CTFL athletes fared in Paris.

Marco Arop, 800m

The first pick of the 2024 CTFL draft did not disappoint in the league’s season, or his second Olympic Games.

During the CTFL season, the utility athlete recorded 3647 IAAF points and finished in first place amongst many of the country’s best athletes.

Before the Olympics began, Arop’s international dominance was known. The Alberta native’s season was marked by first-place finishes, such as wins at the Wanda Diamond League in Xiamen, China, the National Championship and national records in both the 800m and indoor 1000m.

Arop opened his Olympics with a second-place finish in his Aug. 7 heat. The athlete ran a 1:45.74, finishing behind Belgium’s Eliott Crestan.

In the semi-finals, Arop crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:45.07, securing himself a spot in the finals. With two impressive finishes, Arop looked likely to impress ahead of the ultimate race, but he exceeded expectations.

Racing against some of the fastest men in the event’s history, Arop looked calm before the race began.

The 25-year-old comfortably placed himself at the back of the group to begin the race, finishing the first 400 metres in last place as Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyoni led the group at a fast pace. Around the 500-metre mark, Atop began to overtake his competitors, sitting in fourth place when coming onto the back straight.

Midway through the final bend, Arop’s speed increased once again and he overtook two more competitors with just over 100 metres to go. Looking fresh coming into the final straight, Arop drew closer to the leading Wanyoni, looking to claim gold.

Arop gained ground on the Kenyan and the two were shoulder-to-shoulder in the final metres of the race, but Wanyoni was just able to maintain his lead, finishing one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Arop.

Arop will be taking home the silver medal from Paris, and with an official time of 1:41.20, his run became the new national record and the fourth-fastest 800m time in history.

Mariam Abdul-Rashid, 100m Hurdles

After three seasons with the second fastest time in the country – behind only Arctics’ Michelle Harrison every year – Abdul-Rashid burst onto the scene as Canada’s best hurdler in early 2024 with a blisteringly fast personal best of 12.69, qualifying her for the games.

In Paris, Abdul-Rashid finished her first Olympic heat in fifth-place, clocking in at 12.80 and moving on to the Aug.9 semi-finals. 

The semi-finals would prove to be her final race of the games, with the Huskies athlete finishing in fifth once again. Although Abdul-Rashid placed the same in the heats and semi-final race, she drastically improved her time in the latter, running a new personal best of 12.60. Despite this improvement, her position meant she did not qualify for the final race. 

A personal best at the Olympic level is a positive that the 26-year-old hurdler can draw from this as she looks to her future as the country’s new frontrunner in the event.

Usheoritse Itsekiri, 4×100 Relay

After switching from the utility category to become a core athlete, the Bears star dominated the 100m division, finishing in first place with 71 points. During the 2024 outdoor season, Itsekiri ran near his 10.02 personal best multiple times and ran an impressive 9.97 in wind conditions just barely above legality.

The standout season was not a surprise for many that follow the athlete, and he was able to punch his ticket to the games with his home country, Nigeria.

Itsekiri ran anchor in the first heat of the 4x100m for team Nigeria. The sprinter ran a strong 100 metres down the final straight but was unable to make up much ground as he crossed the finish line in seventh place.

Despite an early exit, the 38.20 result equalled Itsekiri’s best in the event.

Sarah Mitton, Shot Put

A dominant force on the international stage, Mitton was a medal favourite coming into the Olympic games, but was unable to bring one home in a heartbreaking final. 

The 2023 World silver medalist and 2024 World indoor champion started her Olympic campaign in strong fashion, topping her group and advancing to the Aug. 9 final with a 19.77m mark.

On the day of the final, Paris experienced rain which created slippery conditions for all athletes at the State de France. Many athletes in the stadium would compete unbothered, but the weather made the circle – from which shot putters must exit the back half – a tricky place to navigate. 

Mitton’s first two throws in the final were 17.11m and 17.48m, well shy of both what the athlete is capable of, and a medal-worthy mark. On her third attempt, Mitton looked more herself, producing a fantastic throw that looked to be medal-worthy, but she was unable to keep her balance. Mitton spun once after her throw, then planted her foot to regain balance, but slipped, losing balance and falling out of the circle in an illegal position. 

The indoor world champion’s foul meant that her 17.48m throw would be her mark, and she finished 12th out of 12 athletes competing in the event that day, a position that would’ve seemed impossible to many before the day began.

Lauren Gale, 400m & 4x400m Relay

After a 2023 season plagued with injuries, the Arctic’s core athlete achieved her ultimate goal of the season, Olympic qualification. 

While Gale qualified for the Tokyo games with the 4x400m relay team, she did not race, meaning Paris would be the first time she competed in an Olympic event.

At the State de France, Gale placed sixth in the Aug. 5 heats with a time of 53.13, not enough to secure a spot in the semi-finals. In the Repechage round the next day, the 24-year-old needed to place first to move on to the next round. Gale improved her time, running a 52.68, but once again she finished in sixth place.

On Aug. 9, Gale was able to compete again and was one of three CTFL athletes who raced in the 4x400m relay. Gale, running the third leg, was integral to the team’s qualification in an incredibly close race that saw seven of the eight teams cross the finish line within one second of each other. The Sittsvile, ON. native ran an impressive 51.04 split, moving Canada from fifth to third place – overtaking team Poland and Ireland – by the time she handed the baton to anchor Kyra Constantine.

With an official time of 3:25.77, Gale and her teammates secured a fourth-placed finish and a berth to the finals via their time. 

In the finals, Gale anchored for the team. Beginning in sixth place and running an improved time of 50.46, Gale was able to maintain the team’s spot when crossing the finish line. The 3:22.01 result was the team’s best of the season, and it came at just the right time.

Aiyanna Stiverne, 4x400m Relay

The Huskies sprinter who competes in the league’s 400m was part of team Canada’s 4x400m, running the second leg in the Aug. 9 heats. Stivernne ran a 51.71 split, passing the baton to teammate Lauren Gale in a respectable fifth place.

In the final race, Stiverne was replaced by University of Michigan sprinter Savannah Sutherland.

This past CTFL season, Stiverne ran the second-fastest free mark in her discipline, a 52.18. The 20 points picked up from the mark were the only ones she scored for her team and finished the season in seventh place.

Kyra Constantine 4x400m Relay

The Arctics 400m athlete competes in the utility division and finished her third CTFL season in sixth place with 56 points.

Constantine, a part of Canada’s fourth-placed relay team at the previous games, ran the final lap in the opening heats. The 26-year-old ran a 51.20 split, beginning in third place but being overtaken in the final 100 metres by Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley.

Despite missing out on automatic qualification through a top-three finish, the team moved on based on their time, a 3:25.77.

Constantine ran the third leg of the finals, running a split of 50.32 and helping the team record a season’s best 3:22.01 and place sixth in the world.

Michelle Harrison, 100m Hurdles

At 31, Harrison – a multiple-time national champion and star for the Arctics – competed in her first-ever Olympic Games. The hurdler began her Olympic career with an eighth-place finish in her heat, recording a 13.40 and missing out on automatic qualification to the semi-finals. 

The next day, a seventh place finish in the repechage round on Aug. 8 with a time of 13.30 meant Harrison’s olympic dreams ended just short of the semi-finals.

After a successful CTFL season in which she ran a best time of 12.83, breaking the league record in her event, these times will be a disappointment for the extremely talented athlete. 

Jazz Shukla, 800m

Shukla had a dominant season in the CTFL, finishing third amongst utility athletes and recording a personal best of 1:58.20. After the Spitfires athlete qualified for her first Olympic games, she seemed ready to compete with the world’s best. 

In Paris, Shukla narrowly missed out on semi-final qualification twice.

The 25-year-old finished fifth in an incredibly close heat where the first six athletes to cross the finish line were less than a second apart. Shukla ran a 2:00.80 while first-placed Jemma Reekie of team Great Britain finished in 2:00.00.

In the Repechage round, Shukla placed second, half a second behind the winner, Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza with a 2:02.00, just missing out on qualification to the semi-finals.

With her Olympic dreams being cut short by mere milliseconds, there are positives to take from Shukla’s heartbreaking exit. The 2024 national champion looks likely to continue her domestic dominance, while marginal improvements could see her make waves on an international level.

Ben Flanagan, 5000m

After a thrilling race that ended in heartbreak for Canada’s Moh Ahmed and fans, Flanagan lined up as the sole Canadian in the second heat of the men’s 5000m. 

Looking to cap off a 2024 season which saw him record a new personal best in the event, and a national record in the 10km road race, Flanagan was the country’s last hope in the event.

The Arctics distance runner did not move on from his heat, placing seventeenth with a time of 13:59.23. While he remained in the front half of the group for the majority of the race, Flanagan started falling behind around the tenth minute of the event and was unable to recover as the groups divided in the final laps.

Regan Yee, 3000m steeplechase

The Huskies utility athlete raced in heat one of the 3000m steeplechase, her chosen event in the CTFL. The Vancouver native had an impressive season in the league, placing fourth in the utility category and winning 62 points for her team. 

On Aug. 4, Yee raced in her second Olympic games, but was unable to advance. Yee finished the race in twelfth-place with a time of 9:27.81, just three seconds off of her personal best.

Aaron Brown, 200m & 4x100m Relay

Not a competitor in the league, Brown has been an ambassador for the Bearss since the league’s inaugural season, promoting and cheering on the team at every given opportunity. With Brown competing in the Olympics, CTFL fans were able to see the familiar face on the track.

Finishing his 200m heat in fourth place with a 20.36 meant Brown had to race once more in the repechage round to qualify for the semi-finals. The day after his inaugural race of the games, the sprinter clocked in at a 20.42 and finished second place, securing a spot in the semi-finals.

In the Aug. 7 semi-finals, Brown laced up alongside 100m gold medal winner Noah Lyles, and Botswana’s young phenom Letslie Tebogo. The race did not go as planned for the sprinter, as he was unable to improve his time, finishing in seventh place in 20.57.

Just two days after his 200m hopes were ended, Brown and the 4x100m relay team took home Canada’s first gold medal in the event since 1996. Finishing in third but winning a silver medal due to a positive performance-enhancing substance test in Tokyo, the team was able to improve on their results in Paris.

The Aug. 8 heats saw Canada finish third behind China and France with a time of 38.39. In the finals the following day, led off by a strong opening leg from Brown, the team shaved almost a second off of their time, crossing the finish line with a time of 37.50. 

Anchored by star Andre de Grasse, Canada just edged out the silver and bronze medallists South Africa and Great Britain who clocked in at 37.57 and 37.61, respectively.

At 32, Brown has now won his first Olympic gold medal in what may be the final time he will compete in the games.

Lucia Stafford, 1500m

The Spitfires’ ambassador competed in her second Olympic games, hoping to improve on her previous semi-final exit.

A season’s best 4:02.22 saw Stafford cross the line in tenth place, meaning a shot at the semi-finals in the repechage round. Clocking in at 4:04.26 in the race, Stafford missed out on qualification by two places, finishing fifth. If the 25-year-old were able to repeat her time from the day before, she would have moved on.

Despite bowing out before the penultimate round, Stafford was able to rival her 4:02.12 personal best from the Tokyo games in her first race.