Brendon Rodney overcome with emotion after Olympic Trials win

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

In the moments before his 200-metre final, Brendon Rodney broke down and cried.

Looking back on a frightening few weeks that saw him almost lose his mom, and ahead to hopefully his first Olympic Games, he was a mixed bag of emotions.

Then he laid down the race of his life.

The 24-year-old from Hamilton won the 200 metres at the Olympic track and field trials, running a blistering 19.96 to become just the second Canadian in history to dip under the 20-second barrier.

"I was just filled with emotions," said Rodney, dressed in a solid white bodysuit, a heavy gold cross around his neck. "I'm proud, and my mom's going to be proud."

Rodney's time had jaws dropping, not only because of it came after a 90-minute rain delay on a chilly afternoon, but also because of who he beat. Aaron Brown of Toronto finished second, while Canadian record-holder Andre De Grasse — who won the 100 metres at the Canadian Olympic trials on Saturday — was third. They both finished in 20.32, requiring a photo finish to determine the outcome.

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And suddenly, Canada has another sprint star.

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"We're just showing the world that Canada's back, and we're ready to run," said Rodney, who was the fastest qualifier in Sunday's semifinals. "I'm happy for Andre, happy for Aaron. Everybody's been working hard and training well, we're coming into shape when it counts."

Rodney's win comes after a few scary weeks. He almost lost his mom Nerissa to a brain aneurysm. He travelled home from Long Island University to be with her, but she insisted he leave to race in the NCAA championships, where he would win bronze.

He left for NCAAs the day of her surgery, not knowing if she would pull through. It was touch and go, doctors told him.

"My mom is my everything, so when that happened, I wanted to stay with my mom, and she was 'Brendon, go go go.' Her believing in me, and wanting me to do it is what pushed me," he said.

"That was one of the things that was really hard to deal with, but I made it through, and she made it, she's strong. And I finished strong today, so I think I'm getting strength from her."

The men's 200 was a highlight of an afternoon that saw world silver medallist Melissa Bishop race to victory in the women's 800, Crystal Emmanuel add a victory in the women's 200 to the 100-metre title she won the previous night and Phylicia George win a hotly-contested women's 100-hurdles final.

Emmanuel completes sprint double

The women's 200 runners were about to step into the starting blocks when a torrential downpour sent the athletes and spectators searching for cover, and led to the long rain delay.

Temperatures plummeted to 13 C, making for tough conditions on the athletes, who had to keep warm not knowing when they'd run.

"For me, I just think in my mind, 'What if at the Olympics it rains?"' said Emmanuel, a 24-year-old from Toronto. "I can't let the weather get to me.' I just thought: the weather's nothing, just run."

Emmanuel ran 22.83 to win the women's 200, narrowly edging Kim Hyacinthe, who crossed in 22.88. Emmanuel let out a shriek after crossing, and screamed "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Asked about her confidence she said "I didn't have this confidence, it didn't just come. I went out there and see my competitors with a world of confidence and I'm so scared, so I just put my head up one day and poked my chest out and starting walking like 'Yo! I'm fast too!'"

Bishop, meanwhile, who was fortunate to get her race in before the rain, pulled away from the field with 200 metres to go. She broke into a grin with 10 metres to go, crossing the finish line in 1:59.32, two triumphant arms raised.

"I'm going to Rio," she said excitedly, knocking a television camera mic. "Sorry!" she said.

The 27-year-old from Eganville, Ont., talked about a mix of relief and excitement.

"It's a little bit of pressure off your shoulders, because this is hard part, making the team is the hard part," Bishop said. "When we get there, it's just about showcasing your talent, and training that you've been doing leading up to this."

Brandon McBride, a 22-year-old from Windsor, Ont., ran 1:45.25 to book a ticket to his first Olympics.

McBride said the turning point in his season was last month's NCAA championships, where he was outkicked by Texas A&M rookie Donavan Brazier, who ran an NCAA record 1:43.55.