Day 9 of the Olympic athletics program is also the last day on the track at Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Canada closed out the venue with two strong performances.
The women’s 4×400-metre relay team of Alicia Brown, Maddy Price, Kyra Constantine and Sage Watson hustled to a fourth-place finish representing Canada with pride in a time of 3:21.84. Falling behind early, the team rallied to challenge for a medal, finishing six tenths of a second behind Jamaica.
“This team ran with so much heart. I’m so proud of these girls. This opportunity meant so much to us,” said Brown. “Our goal was to run a 3:21 today, which we did, just short of a Canadian record. I think we exceeded our own expectations. We’re a little heartbroken.”
“This relay team for years, since Rio, has been such a competitor on this international stage,” said Price. “At the end of the day, our goal was to run as fast as we could run. The rest is out of our control. Of course, it hurts. We wanted to bring a medal home for Canada and for ourselves. We’ll be back. We’re just getting started again.”
“I think we all pushed a little bit harder today because we all really wanted the medal,” said Constantine. “I’m really proud of our performance and how we did, both for us and for our country.”
“I know all these ladies left it all on the track. I watched that as I was waiting to run my leg,” said Watson. “I really wanted to bring home a medal. We got fourth in Rio, so I know how it feels – it hurts. I think the women in this track and field program just want to bring home a medal, just like the guys do. We’re getting so close and I promise Canada that we’re going to do it.”
Andrea Seccafien braved extremely hot, muggy weather in Tokyo to finish 14th in the women’s 10,000 metres with a time of 31:36.36. “I’m happy with it. I think I ran a smart race, given the conditions. I thought I would be able to compete with the Americans and I finished right behind them,” said Seccafien. “I wanted to be Top 12 and I finished 14th, but I ran 31:36, and that’s my second-fastest time ever, so I’m happy with that.”
The morning session featured one event with Canadians on the start line: the women’s marathon.
Racing 42.2 kilometres in the unforgiving summer conditions were Malindi Elmore, Natasha Wodak and Dayna Pidhoresky.
Elmore finished ninth in the event in a season’s best time of 2:30:59. She made her first Olympic appearance since Athens 2004, when she competed in the 1,500 metres. Her change to the road paid dividends, as she was only one place behind Canada’s best result in the women’s marathon, when Sylvie Ruegger finished eighth in 1984.
The second Canadian over the finish line was Natasha Wodak, who finished 13th in the marathon and raised her hands in triumph as she crossed the line. “I knew I was in the best fitness of my life. It was just a question of whether I could withstand the heat,” said Wodak. “I wanted to finish in the Top 20. Top 10 was the dream. Top 13 – I’m thrilled. I couldn’t have asked for more and I started passing people in the last 20 kilometres, which is what I wanted. It was a dream day.”
Pidhoresky gutted it out in the heat and humidity to finish the Olympic marathon in a time of 3:03:10 and 73rd place.
“I just tried to settle into my race and be smart and patient. I have a mantra that patience is power and the longer I could be patient, the better I would do,” said Elmore. “I had hoped to pick it up in the last 10 kilometres, but it turned into a hold-on and don’t-fall-apart kind of last lap, because I started to hurt a lot and it took everything I had to keep the momentum moving forward.”
At the 10 kilometre mark, Elmore and Wodak were part of the lead pack of about 20 runners, while Pidhoresky was about three and a half minutes back.
Just over halfway home, Elmore and Wodak were part of a group that was 15-20 seconds behind the lead pack.
At the 30-kilometre mark, the leaders had pulled away and Elmore and Wodak would not be able to medal, but they persevered. Elmore found herself in 15th place, 51 seconds back of the leader, while Wodak was two spots behind.
Both Canadian contenders reeled in some of their competition, ending with some of the greatest Canadian marathon performances ever at the Olympic Games.
