Running down their dreams: The Pan Ams, the worlds and the Rio Olympics
GAVIN SMELLIE
Age: 29
Hometown: Etobicoke Events: 100m, 4x100m relay He’s Canada’s second-fastest man this year and battling time to become the sub-10 second runner he believes he can be. An Olympian in 2012, he was part of the 4x100 relay squad which was in the bronze medal position — but disqualified when a teammate stepped on the line.
SAM EFFAH
Age: 26
Hometown: Calgary Events: 100m, 4x100m relay He came to track from football at the University of Calgary and was instantly fast. He seemed destined to join the elite international club of sub-10 second runners but the trajectory of his career has been badly sidelined by repeated injuries.
KHAMICA BINGHAM
Age: 21
Hometown: Caledon Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay The former gymnast started picking up records as soon as she stepped on the track in high school and hasn’t stopped. At 19, she ran anchor for the 4x100 team at the world championships; she made the 100m final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and this year she anchored the team that broke the Canadian record, twice, and qualified for the Rio Olympics. She’s the fastest Canadian woman currently running.
KIMBERLY HYACINTHE
Age: 26
Hometown: Lachenaie, Que. Events: 200m, 4x100m relay The former basketball player’s long limbs lend themselves to the 200 distance, where she’s the second fastest Canadian this year. But she’s also an integral part of the women’s 4x100 relay team which set a national record at the 2013 world championships, finished fourth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and qualified for the Rio Olympics earlier this year.
CRYSTAL EMMANUEL
Age: 23
Hometown: East York Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay A 2012 Olympian in the 200m, she says that’s her favourite distance but she’s long excelled in both the sprints. In 2011, she won both the 100m and 200m national titles. She’s a key member of the 4x100 relay team.
PHYLICIA GEORGE
Age: 27
Hometown: Markham Events: 100m hurdles She didn’t start running until high school and instantly felt at home with the sprinters even though her tall, slim frame suggests she belonged with the distance runners. George is primarily a 100m hurdler but had such a fast 100m sprint she qualified for the London Olympics in that event. She chose to concentrate on the hurdles and finished sixth.
NIKKITA HOLDER
Age: 28
Hometown: Pickering Events: 100m hurdles The year after she competed in the 2012 Olympics she stepped away from the sport to have her son Kaedence. She returned to hurdling last year when he was 3 months old and now balances training with parenting. She’s trying to get back to her past form, and beyond it, in time to compete at this summer’s Pan Am Games and world championships in Beijing.
DONTAE RICHARDS-KWOK
Age: 26
Hometown: Mississauga Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay He’s competed at the Commonwealth Games, but the highlight of his career is the bronze medal he won with the 4x100 relay team at the 2013 world championships. He has struggled with hamstring injuries.
PHILIP OSEI
Age: 24
Hometown: Toronto Events: 400m, 4x400m relay At first, he hated the painful 400m distance but now he’s known for never showing pain, even when he’s deep in it. He’s a former Canadian champion at that distance, but had disappointing results last year after a foot injury. Osei is back to form now and is Canada’s fastest 400m runner this year.
FAWN DORR
Age: 28
Hometown: Marten River, Ont. Event: 400m hurdles The dual Canadian-US citizen, who once ranked in the world’s top 10, started running for Canada ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. She missed competing at those Games by a single spot and has been focused on making sure she doesn’t miss Rio, her last chance at the Olympics.
SHAI-ANNE DAVIS
Age: 21
Hometown: Toronto Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay A fast runner from early on, despite the curvature of her spine from scoliosis, she’s still the junior Canadian record holder in the 60m. She was on 4x100 relay team when they broke the national record at the 2013 worlds and again this year at the world relays in the Bahamas where they broke their own record, twice.
TREMAINE HARRIS
Age: 23
Hometown: Markham Events: 200m, 400m, 4x400m relay He competed in the 200m, the event he loves best, at the 2012 London Olympics. But, the following season, he struggled to balance university and training, and suffered foot injuries. He’s still working to get back to his best form and, this year, has had more success in the 400m distance. Kerry Gillespie