Athletes competing at La Classique d’athlétisme on Friday in Montreal didn’t let a sudden venue change derail their strong performances. The standout performance of the night came from Craig Thorne of Quispamsis, N.B., in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Thorne set a new meet record of 13.51 seconds, just shy of his personal best.
Thorne’s time shattered the previous meet record of 14.04 seconds, set last year by Canadian decathlete Pierce LePage. The 23-year-old currently sits on the bubble for Olympic selection in the 110m hurdles event, but a win at the Canadian Trials next week in Montreal would likely secure his spot in Paris. His personal best of 13.48 seconds came at the Edmonton Athletics Invitational two weeks ago. Canada hasn’t had a male hurdler at the Olympic Games since Rio 2016.
In the women’s 1,500m, Kate Current of Cobourg, Ont., set a new personal best of 4:06.91, breaking the 4:07 barrier for the first time. Current’s time is the third-fastest by a Canadian this season. Like Thorne, Current also sits on the bubble for Olympic selection in her event. She will be looking for a top-two finish at Trials to put herself in a strong position for selection.
Other notable performances from the meet include Quebec’s own Audrey Leduc, who ran the second-fastest 100-meter time of her career and set a new meet record of 11.00 seconds (+1.2 m/s). Her time is also the fastest ever by a Canadian woman on Canadian soil. Leduc already has the Olympic standard in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events.
Audrey Leduc fait un temps incroyable de 11.00 dans la course Elite Prelims du 100m à #LaClassique
Photo: @Mundosportimg pic.twitter.com/FjsX16xwjM
— Classique d’athlétisme de Montréal (@MtlClassique) June 21, 2024
In the women’s 200-meter event, Jacqueline Madogo of Ottawa stormed to a 23.09-second win, her third-fastest run, crushing the previous meet record and winning by over two-tenths of a second.
Plans are underway to repair the track at Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard in time for the trials starting on June 26. While we hope to return to the initial venue, the Ben Leduc Athletics Track didn’t stop Canadians from delivering top-tier performances as they aim to secure their tickets to Paris.
