The Olympic Games in Paris were perhaps the best Olympic Games since London 2012. Stadiums were full, crowds were buzzing, and the atmosphere on the ground was joyous and celebratory. I arrived in time for the beginning of the athletics calendar and there was not a seat to be had in the Stade de France for any session. The roadsides were packed with supporters for the marathon and race walk events. One moment that will stick with me forever was when Mondo Duplantis vaulted the world record in the pole vault (again) in front of 70,000 fans. The crowd went absolutely insane. So much so that as I left the stadium, my ears were ringing for almost five minutes. It is moments like this that make the Olympic Games so special. So what did I learn? Best to encapsulate it in these five things.
Canada is a hammer throwing nation.
If it was a question before, it isn’t anymore. Canada is truly a hammer throwing nation. Across the men’s and the women’s finals, Canada had three participants: Camryn Rogers (Gold), Ethan Katzberg (Gold) and Rowan Hamilton (ninth). Just missing the final on the men’s side was Adam Keenan, who will retire after the Games—and it was a miracle that he even made it with some preseason injuries.
On the women’s side you may also have seen Jillian Weir in your OLG commercials, who unfortunately didn’t qualify for the Games due to injury, but she also made a World Final in Eugene in 2022.
It has taken a long time to get to this moment, from a manure sale in Kamloops that helped launch Canadian throwing legend Dylan Armstrong into prominence, the sport has slowly grown to the point where Canada dominated the 2024 Games. There are also no signs of letting up with Katzberg and Rogers really just at the beginning of their careers and more on the way through the U20 ranks.
Moh Ahmed is a true champion.
In Tokyo, Moh Ahmed won silver in the men’s 5,000m, cementing his legacy without doubt as the best Canadian men’s distance runner ever. But his results in Paris just cemented his legacy as not only one of the best distance runners in the world, but as one of the most gracious—exhibiting the true Olympic spirit. Following the absolutely fabulous men’s 10,000m race where Moh was in position for a medal until about 40m to go, he showed the fire of competition, the will to put it all on the line, and the humility when it doesn’t quite work. After the race, he told CBC:
“Honestly I have no regrets. I think I ran that really, really f—ing well. I was in position with 50 [metres to go], you know what I’m saying? And I just, I don’t know. I mean, my legs are really, really dead. I did everything I could, the cues. I wasn’t really worried about it. A fourth person blew past me. I was like, ‘Go through your gears, go through your gears.’ So, hey, I gave it everything I had and yes, I’m disappointed, but I gave everything I had.”
It was after Moh was clipped and went down. Unlike others who fell in his race, Athletics Canada was unsuccessful in his appeal, and he did not advance to the Olympic final where he was defending silver medalist.
Following the decision, he showed true Olympic spirit:
“What happened on Wednesday’s Olympic 5000 heats, was unfortunate, and through no fault of anyone. It is certainly not the fault of the officials who were handed the difficult task of sorting through so many appeals, from 5000m heats alone. If anything, I reserve some blame for myself that I did not lean on my experience to get myself out of trouble well before the moment that led to the fall.”
“Such is life we fall, stumble and get knocked down. But damn we don’t gotta stay there for too long, do we?”
I am sure we will see Moh back on the world stage next year in Tokyo.
Watch out for Canadian women’s sprints.
For years, it’s been about the men, but Canadian women’s sprints are on the rise. Zoe Sherar, Jacqueline Madogo, Savannah Sutherland and others are leading the charge which saw both women’s relays make the final and finish sixth.
Sutherland also made an individual final in the 400mH as a collegiate which is impressive in itself, she will certainly be a medal contender come LA 2028.
Audrey Leduc, Jacqueline Madogo, Zoe Sherar, Lauren Gale, and Mariam Abdul-Rashid also all had breakout years in their events which has provided a lot of depth in the sprint ranks for Canada and there is great signs of continued growth for Canada.
The women’s sprint groups are some of the deepest in Canada, especially the women’s 400m where the Canadian Final is one to watch year in and year out.
Super shoes are better than we thought.
When I was chatting with Krista DuChene about the men’s and women’s marathons in Paris, we discussed the difficulty of the course and I surmised that it would be a miracle if the men broke 2:09 and the women broke 2:25. I was wrong. Olympic records were run in both events with Ethiopia’s Tamarat Tola running 2:06 and Netherland’s Sifan Hassan clocking 2:22. I was gob smacked.
All of this to say that the super shoe discussion is not over. The shoes are proving to help athletes run faster and faster, destroying courses thought to be very difficult. Rory Linkletter perhaps said it best after the men’s race: “I would have expected far more dropouts with a 2:06 winning time.”
I think the shoes accounted for much of that. They also account for the rapidly quickening world standards which will be 2:06:30 for men and 2:23:30 for women.
Is this the end for Eliud Kipchoge?
I was standing at 31K of the men’s race when Eliud Kipchoge stopped on the road. A large throng of fans gathered around the Greatest Distance Runner of All-Time and were serenading him with cheers, synchronized claps, and comments such as “We love you, Eliud” or “You are still the GOAT.”
Kipchoge stayed at 31K for about 20minutes and waited for the last runner to pass, who coincidentally was Ser-Od Bat-Ochiryn running his record-breaking sixth Olympic Marathon. He then took off his bib, shoes, socks, and cooling headband and gave them all away to different members of the crowd before jumping in the Voiture Balais (deemed the autobus), where he was whisked away.
Kipchoge reappeared the next day, rightfully selected as one of the athletes to accompany Thomas Bach at the closing ceremonies. The question remains is this the last we will see of Eliud Kipchoge in a competitive marathon? Will he take some time and try to run New York?
If this is the end, it doesn’t impact his status in my eyes. He is truly the greatest of all-time.
Stephen Andersen is a World Athletics Authorized Athlete Representative, representing some of Canada’s best track and field athletes. He is the Elite Athlete Coordinator for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. He also serves as an Assistant Coach for the University of New Brunswick Cross Country and Track and Field Program. Stephen is from Burlington, ON. You can find him on Instagram @andersen_runs or Twitter @AndersenRuns.
