Good start for Canada at the track and field worlds
De Grasse, Brown advance to the 100-metre semis
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The track and field world championships are underway
No medals were awarded during the opening session Friday in Doha, Qatar, and there were no big surprises. But here's the most interesting stuff that happened from a Canadian perspective, plus a look ahead to the weekend:
Canada's Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown both qualified for the men's 100-metre semifinals. The top three sprinters in each of Friday's heats automatically moved on, and De Grasse and Brown both finished second in their group. Defending champion Justin Gatlin of the U.S. was the winner of De Grasse's heat. Gold-medal favourite Christian Coleman of the U.S. won his and was the only guy to clock in under 10 seconds. The semis and finals are Saturday. Read more about the heats here, and read more about the top contenders for the title of World's Fastest Man here.
Other Canadians advancing in their events: Alysha Newman in the women's pole vault, Mo Ahmed and Justyn Knight in the men's 5,000 metres, Lindsey Butterworth in the women's 800 and Genevieve Lalonde in the women's 3,000 steeplechase.
Canadians who were eliminated: Kelsie Ahbe in the women's pole vault, and Regan Yee and Maria Bernard-Galea in the women's 3,000 steeplechase. Read more about how Canadian athletes fared here.
Still to come: The only medal event Friday is the women's marathon. It starts at 5 p.m. ET, which is midnight in Doha. The unusual start time is to avoid the searing daytime heat and humidity. But it'll still feel like 45 when the race starts, which is going to be brutal on the runners. Three Canadians are competing: Sasha Gollish, Melanie Myrand and Lyndsay Tessier, who has an interesting backstory. She's a 41-year-old, full-time Grade 3 teacher who didn't get serious about running until she was well into her 30s. Read more about her here.
Saturday's highlights: The marquee race of the meet — the men's 100-metre final — is at 3:15 p.m. ET. The semis at 11:45 a.m. ET should be competitive too with a lot of talented sprinters in the field. The other finals on Day 2 are the women's hammer throw (12:25 p.m. ET), men's long jump (1:40), women's 10,000m (2:10), and the men's and women's 50km race walks (4:30). If Canada wins a medal on Day 2, it will probably come in the men's 100.
Sunday's highlights: De Grasse and Brown will be right back on the track for the men's 200-metre heats at 1:05 p.m. ET. Newman has a shot at a medal in the women's pole vault final at 1:40 p.m. ET — her top height this year is better than all but five other women's. The women's 100m final is at 4:20 p.m. ET.
How to watch: CBCSports.ca is live streaming the entire meet here. Saturday's coverage runs from 8:35 a.m. ET to 4 p.m. ET. Sunday's is noon to 5 p.m. ET. You can also watch on CBC television Saturday from 3-6 p.m. ET — including live coverage of the men's 100-metre final at 3:15 p.m. ET — and Sunday from 3-5 p.m. in your local time. Add live events to your calendar app here.
Quickly...
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