Canada’s track and field squad had another productive session at Stade de France on Thursday morning at the Olympics.
The Canadian women’s and men’s 4×100-metre relay teams and shot-put star Sarah Mitton all qualified for event finals and will have a chance to compete for a podium spot.
Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse finished third in their heat in 38.39 seconds to narrowly move on. The top three in each of the two heats and the next two best times earned spots in Friday’s final.
Canada finished second at the World Athletics Relays earlier this year and also won silver in this event at the last Olympics in Tokyo three years ago.
De Grasse competed after saying he re-aggravated a hamstring injury in the 200-metre semifinals on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Eloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc clocked a national-record time of 42.50 seconds in their heat to finish fourth and earn a spot in Friday’s final.
In shot put, Mitton posted the best distance of 19.77 metres on her first attempt to earn one of 12 spots in Friday’s final.
Shockingly, two-time reigning world champ Chase Jackson of the United States did not qualify.
Mitton, from Brooklyn, N.S., won silver at last year’s world championships.
