Team Canada sprints to three podiums at Diamond League Gateshead

Just 10 days away from Tokyo 2020, Canadian sprinters won three medals at the latest Diamond League stop in Gateshead, England on Tuesday.

Today’s event was a final warm up for athletes before competition begins at the Olympics next week.

READ: Team Canada to have 57 competitors in athletics at Tokyo 2020

In the women’s 100m race Khamica Bingham and Crystal Emmanuel completed a double podium for Canada, capturing second and third respectively. Bingham finished just behind Swiss sprinter Ajla Del Pointe with a time of 11.23 seconds, while Emmanuel finished the race in 11.36s. Del Pointe won the race with a time of 11.19s.

In the men’s 100m, three-time Olympic medallist Andre De Grasse narrowly missed the podium in the photo-finish race. He finished in fourth place with a time of 10.13s – the same time as Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, who finished in third, and American Fred Kerley in fifth. The 100m was won by American Trayvon Bromell for his first Diamond League victory with a time of 9.98 seconds, while Britain’s Chijindu Ujah completed the podium in second place in 10.10 seconds.

While he missed the podium in his first event, De Grasse was able to reach the podium in the men’s 4x100m relay. Competing alongside Bismark Boateng, Jerome Blake and Bolade Ajomale, the Canadian relay squad ran to a silver medal after stopping the clock at season-best 38.29 seconds. Host-country Great Britain finished in the top spot with a time of 38.27s – just 0.02 seconds ahead of Canada. The Netherlands finished the relay in third with a time of 38.49s.

The women’s relay team was disqualified from the competition.

Both the women’s 100m race and men and women’s relays are considered non-Diamond League events and are not counted towards overall Diamond League standings.

Benjamin Flanagan competed in the men’s 3000m event, where he posted a personal best time of 7:54.32 for 15th place.