Multi-talented Canadian sprinter Jerome Blake eager for more success after triumphs on world stage
B.C. runner helped men's 4x100m relay team earn silver at Tokyo 2020
Model, actor and world champion.
Canada's rising sprint star Jerome Blake thrives in the spotlight.
In his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, the Kelowna, B.C., native won silver in the 4x100m relay for Canada.
"It was pretty cool because we ran together at the Olympics last year," said Blake, after the race. "I have a lot of family and friends watching and that was special to me. Especially that my mom was just on the turn out there to see me run well.
Blake, who was born in Buff Bay, Jamaica and works as an actor in film and television while also doing some modelling along with stand-up comedy, relocated with his family to the Okanagan region in B.C. during his final year of high school.
"Kelowna is where my mom lives today. That's where my two brothers live still. So Kelowna is home and, you know, that's where my heart lies," Blake told Global News.
WATCH | Jerome Blake inspired by Canadian sprint legend Donovan Bailey:
Growing up in Jamaica, Blake was a 400-metre hurdler, high jumper and long jumper as a student, with a dream of representing Canada at an Olympic Games since listening to fellow Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey talk about Atlanta 1996.
After making the move to Kelowna, B.C., he was spotted by a coach who encouraged him to take sprinting seriously.
"Technically, I didn't really like sprinting at first because it was super hard," said Blake, in an interview with Canadian Sport Scene. "I wasn't really the best at it. I gravitated toward things I was best at and that was high jump and long jump."
Blake made his international debut for Canada at the 2018 NACAC Championships in Toronto, but it was a year earlier at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg where retired Canadian sprinter Glenroy Gilbert remembers a young Blake catching his eye.
WATCH l Canadian men golden in 4x100m relay at athletics worlds:
"[He was] running on sheer talent with no strength or development," Gilbert, now Athletics Canada head coach told CBC Sports. "I've always thought Jerome could be a good sprinter. [He] finally did what he needed to do, training in an environment with world-class athletes that would be conducive to him running fast. It's hard to say where the ceiling is for him."
With the 2023 track and field season underway, Blake is eager to compete alongside his Canadian teammates while focusing on his individual performance.
Blake finished sixth in 20.39 at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet.
"I'm sure it will be nice going against each other this early in the season, [maybe] what Canadian [Olympic] trials might look like [in late] July. But my focus is trying to run the best race I can."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
