Audrey Leduc knows exactly how to put on a show for the home crowd. For the second consecutive year, Leduc captured both the women’s 100-metre and 200-metre titles at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa, just across the river from her hometown of Gatineau, Que.
Go back another year, and she pulled off the same feat at the 2024 Olympic trials in Montreal to earn her spot on the Paris squad.
With family and friends cheering from the grandstands, Leduc clocked 22.38 seconds to clinch gold in a Canadian championship record time. In doing so, she shaved down the meet record she set last year and finished just a couple of hundredths of a second off her own national record.
“I was locked in. I was here to be close to or set a new personal best,” Leduc said. “I was super close to doing that, but I’m still very glad with the result. It’s Father’s Day today, so to be able to make that today, it’s even more special.”
On the men’s side, veteran Aaron Brown propelled himself to his 13th national championship title. Brown secured the men’s 200-metre crown in a time of 20.33 seconds.
“It’s special because my father’s here, my son is here, my daughter’s here,” Brown said. “I don’t take that for granted. I would have liked to run a little bit faster, but a win is a win. It’s number 13, and sometimes it’s ugly. Sometimes it’s pretty. You take it any way you can get it, so I’m happy.”
In the junior ranks, Wyatt Lee won the U20 men’s 200-metre final with a time of 20.67 seconds.
“I don’t even know what to say. I hate the 200, it’s not my event,” Lee said. “Coaches told me to run it, and I got the job done.”
In the U20 women’s 200-metre final, Tatiana Reyes zipped over the line in a tight finish, walking away with the gold medal in 23.29 seconds.
Malleck outduels Arop in dramatic 1500m
Foster Malleck had to outrace an Olympic medallist and world champion to claim his first senior Canadian championship. Mission accomplished. Malleck’s lethal kick in the final 200 metres of the men’s 1500-metre final allowed him to pass 800-metre global powerhouse Marco Arop, grabbing gold in a sharp 3:36.68.
“It means the world,” Malleck said. “I’ve been on the podium the last two years, and I definitely knew this year I’d have a good chance of getting on top. But I also knew that this is the deepest the 1500 has been in Canadian history, so it’s going to be a battle.”
Lucia Stafford had to contend with an equally deep field in the women’s 1500-metre final. Stafford overcame the tactical heavy hitters to win the tactical affair in 4:08.66.
“Marco Arop said last year that he gets more nervous for the national championships than he does for the Olympic final,” Stafford noted. “When you’re out in the Diamond League and the finals, you’re just running more free. Being a heavy favourite is not fun. It’s a lot more fun being the underdog.”
Para-Ambulatory and wheelchair fields ignite Terry Fox facility
Chloe Dunbar won her second gold medal of these championships with a dominant performance in a loaded women’s para-ambulatory 200-metre final, running a personal best time of 25.22 seconds.
“I had a really good start, got off strong,” Dunbar said. “Thankfully, the sun came out, and it was a really feel-good race.”
Étienne Rheault took the men’s para-ambulatory 200-metre title with a time of 24.24 seconds, while Liam Stanley topped an all-star field of middle-distance runners in the para-ambulatory 1500-metre final, clocking 4:06.84.
In the wheelchair events, Austin Smeenk won the men’s 800-metre wheelchair final with a gold-medal time of 1:49.06. Isabella Vujicic cruised to the women’s 800-metre wheelchair victory in 2:43.26.
U20 middle-distance talent shines over 800m and 3000m
Mary McLean won the U20 women’s 800-metre title with a time of 2:06.03. It marked one of her final appearances representing Duke University before transitioning her focus fully to the international stage.
Ryan Georgeson took the men’s U20 800-metre gold in a thrillingly tight finish where the top three athletes were separated by less than half a second. His time of 1:53.43 held up for the victory.
In the longer distances, Brody Clark ran the fastest time ever recorded for the U20 men’s 3000 metres at a Canadian championship. The performance was necessary, as the top three finishers all dipped under the previous championship record. Clark’s winning time of 8:13.07 will rewrite the record books.
“I had a sour taste in my mouth after coming second yesterday,” Clark said. “This is a great way to end my high school career here at the U20 nationals.”
Adrianna Buitelaar won the U20 women’s 3000-metre final in 9:19.29, pairing the performance with her U20 1500-metre gold medal from earlier in the week.
High jumps and big throws round out the field
Peace Omonzane claimed the women’s triple jump crown with a leap of 12.99 metres, while Olorunfemi Akinduro won the men’s triple jump title with a best mark of 16.26 metres. Jennifer Elizarov vaulted 4.45 metres to win the women’s pole vault, and Sean Cate cleared 2.18 metres to become the 2026 men’s high jump champion.
In the throws, Jenna Tunks won the U20 women’s discus with a toss of 51.33 metres. Throwing remains the Tunks family trade. Her father, Olympian Jason Tunks, coaches both Jenna and her older sister Julia, who won the senior discus title on Saturday.
Arthur Stanat won the senior men’s shot put gold with a throw of 18.20 metres, Gursher Gabri took the U20 men’s shot put title at 17.44 metres, and Griffin Cole claimed gold in the men’s U20 javelin with a mark of 60.89 metres.
The 2026 Canadian Track and Field Championships concluded a successful two-year residency at Ottawa’s Terry Fox Athletic Facility. This year’s event served as the primary selection trials for the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
