Qualifying standards are getting faster and more difficult heading into the 2025 Canadian Track and Field League season. But it’s not without reason, as CTFL athletes raised the bar for Canadian Track and Field competition in 2024. As the sport and the league grows more and more heading into the 2025 season, the CTFL released the following new standards.

100m

The men’s 100m standard dropped to 10.68 seconds, a drop of one tenth of a second. With Huskies’ Elizier Adjibi and Bears’ Usheoritse Itsekiri each cracking the 10 second barrier last season, it only makes sense the standard follows suit. The women’s standard dropped to 12.14 seconds from 12.18, a mark few athletes had trouble breaking in 2024. 

200m

In the 200m, the men’s standard is now 21.77 seconds, just slightly quicker than the last standard of 21.83 seconds. The women are seeing a slightly more significant drop to 24.89 from 25.04.

400m

In the 400m, the men’s standard has gradually decreased to 48.98 seconds while the women’s dropped to 57.51 seconds from 58.23 seconds. The women’s 400m field is led by Olympian Lauren Gale, who can consistently break 51 seconds.

800m

In the 800m, the men’s standard of 1:52.51 is only three tenths of a second faster than last season and the women’s new mark of 2:11.96 is just over a second faster than in 2024.

1500m

In the 1500m, the women’s new standard of 4:30.84 is just under three seconds faster than the 2024 standard. Again, this can be attributed to a high level of competition in 2024, where the top three women’s 1500m athletes consistently broke 4:20. At the same time, the men’s standard of 3:50.07 is just a slight decrease from 3:50.99.

5000m

The most significant change comes in the women’s 5000m, where the standard has lowered to 18:37.43, over 30 seconds faster than in 2024. The new mark won’t be a problem for 2024 CTFL champion and Arctics’ athlete Jayden Keeler, who ran 16:39.74 at the championship last season. At the same time, the men’s standard has actually increased by one second, to 15:01.33.

Sprint Hurdles

In the sprint hurdles, the men’s standard has seen a bigger jump. The new standard is set at 16.17 seconds from 16.47 seconds, following a 2024 season where CTFL champion and Bears’ athlete David Adeleye posted a Free Mark of 13.84. The women’s standard dropped to 14.83 seconds from 14.85 seconds. At the same time, the 400m hurdles standard dropped to 57.39 seconds for the men and 1:06.89 for the women.

Shot Put

In the field, the women’s shot put standard was tossed to 10.78m, a mark CTFL athletes will have no trouble breaking especially considering Olympian and Bears’ shot putter Sarah Mitton can easily crack the 20-metre mark. The men’s standard increased to 12 metres, a jump of nearly a full metre.

Long Jump

Finally, the long jump saw slight increases as the new men’s standard is set at 6.82 metres and the new women’s standard is 5.36m.

As CTFL competition continues to blow the old standards out of the water, new standards have to be put in place to keep up. With the elite and improving talent year after year, it’s clear Canadian Track and Field athletes have what it takes to shatter these new standards once again.