Audrey Leduc knows how to put on a show for the home crowd. For the second year in a row, Leduc has won both the women’s 100 and 200 metre titles at the Canadian Track & Field Championships presented by Bell in Ottawa – just across the river from her hometown of Gatineau, Quebec.
Go back another year and she also pulled off the same feat at the 2024 Trials in Montreal to earn a spot on the Olympic team that summer.
Her time of 22.38 seconds, with family and friends in attendance to cheer her on, clinched 200 metres gold in Canadian Championship record time. In fact, she beat the record she set last year and was just a couple hundredths of a second behind her own Canadian record.
“I was locked in. I was here to be close to or set a new personal best. I was super close to doing that, but I’m still very glad with the result. I feel like it was like a good time all the time,” Leduc said. “It's Father's Day today, so to be able to make that today it's even more special.”
Speaking of fathers, Aaron Brown propelled himself to his 13th national championship with his win in the men’s 200 metres in a time if 20.33 seconds.
“It's special because my father's here, my son is here, my daughter's here. I don't take that for granted. I would have liked to run a little bit faster, but 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,” Brown said.
Chloe Dunbar won her second gold medal of these Championships with her win in the 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. As I was turning through, I was just thinking, hammer it down and hold it down to the end, it was a personal best,” Dunbar said. “I came in here today thinking the weather wasn't going to be the best. 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 his time of 24.24 seconds.
“It feels super good to be a champion today here in Ottawa with the great sun, the blue sky and the great track. It's just with the people here too, very nice,” Rheault said.
Wyatt Lee won the U20 men’s 200 metres with a time of 20.67 seconds.
“I don't even know what to say. I hate the 200, it's not my event. Coaches told me to run it, and I got the job done. It was the most tiring race I've ever raced in life,” Lee said.
Tatiana Reyes zipped over the line in a tight finish, walking away with the women’s 200 metre gold medal with her time of 23.29 seconds.
Malleck Outduels Arop in 1500
Foster Malleck had to outrace an Olympic medallist and world champion to claim his first Canadian championship. Mission accomplished. Malleck’s kick in the last 200 metres of the men’s 1500 metre final allowed him to pass 800 metre legend Marco Arop and grab gold in a time of 3:36.68.
“It means the world. 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,” Malleck said. “To finally get it done just means the world and it's just a testament to the work I've put in with my coach and my team.”
Lucia Stafford had to contend with a deep field in the women’s 1500 metre final, too. Stafford overcame the contenders to win in a time of 4:08.66.
“Marco Arop said last year: ‘I get more nervous for the national championships than I do for the Olympic final.’ It's almost like you're back to your 16 year old self and you're a scared little kid and there's all these pressure and you're in your head so much. When you're out in the Diamond League and the finals, you're just running more free and I think it's just important to remind yourself that you've done this a million times. You need to respect everyone and being a heavy favorite is, is not fun. It’s a lot more fun being the underdog,” Stafford said.
Liam Stanley topped an all-star field of middle distance runners in the para ambulatory 1500 metre final, clocking a time of 4:06.84.
“It was good. I just kind of wanted to sit for, you know, 800, 900 metres, and kind of take off from there. I think I did that and it went pretty well,” Stanley said.
Two Laps to the Podium
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 with her time of 2:43.26.
“I just wanted to do my own race, have fun, enjoy my last race at this Nationals and I just stayed on her the whole time. Then I realized I could probably just go now, and I did and it worked out, so I'm really happy,” Vujicic said.
Mary McLean won the U20 women’s 800 metres with her time of 2:06.03.
“I was honestly just really excited for this race, definitely some nerves too. But this is one of my last races wearing the Duke singlet, so I just wanted to soak it all in and run it,” McLean said.
Ryan Georgeson took the men’s U20 800 metre gold in a tight race where the top three finishers were all within a half second. His time of 1:53.43 held up for the win.
“I had full confidence I had it. I'm pretty positive I had the best kick in this field. When I felt someone on my shoulder, I knew I would have to put into gear, but I felt really confident,” Georgeson said.
U20 Athletes Travel 3K for Gold
Brody Clark ran the fastest ever time for the U20 men’s 3000 metres at a Canadian Championships. He needed to, because the first three finishers all ran under the previous Championships record time. In the end, Clark’s time of 8:13.07 will be etched into the record books, along with his gold medal.
“I don't know, that was, that was amazing. I had a sour taste in my mouth after coming second yesterday and today's Father's Day, so shout out to all the fathers, including my own. I was thinking about hitting that last 150 and really trying to just bring it home. This is a great way to end my high school career here at the U20 Nationals,” Clark said.
Adrianna Buitelaar won the U20 women’s 3000 metres in a gold medal time of 9:19.29. Sunday’s gold medal will go nicely with her gold medal from the U20 women’s 500 metres from earlier in the week.
“Really happy. I mean, after, after Thursday I was super happy but also a little bummed because I didn't automatically make the U20 Worlds team. Today just feels really good to come away with another gold,” she said.
The Last Day to Jump Onto the Podium
Peace Omonzane claimed the women’s triple jump crown Sunday morning, landing 12.99 metres away with a gold medal.
Olorunfemi Akinduro won the men’s triple jump with his best jump of 16.26 metres.
Jennifer Elizarov vaulted to the top of the Championships podium with a best jump of 4.45 metres in the women’s pole vault final.
Sean Cate is your 2026 men’s high jump champion, leaping 2.18 metres for the win.
Throwing For Glory
Jenna Tunks won the U20 women’s discus event with a best throw of 51.33 metres. Throwing is the Tunks family business, with Jason Tunks passing on the knowledge he acquired from a long national team and Olympic career to both Jenna and her older sister Julia, who won the senior discus title on Saturday.
“I'm super grateful that my dad is able to coach me and that he's had such a great career and my sister's also following that. I feel like I'm just like the little sister so I'm really grateful for them and I'm really grateful for just like being able to be here and compete,” Jenna Tunks said.
Arthur Stanat won men’s shot put gold with his best throw of 18.20 metres.
Gursher Gabri won the U20 men’s shot put title with his best throw of 17.44 metres.
Griffin Cole claimed gold in the men’s U20 javelin with his throw of 60.89 metres.
Relays All Day
About the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships presented by Bell
The 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships Presented by Bell wrap a two-year engagement at Ottawa’s Terry Fox Athletic Facility.
This year’s Championships included national championships for Open, U20, Para Athletics and Combined Events and will determine the Olympic Program athletes who will compete at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Get all the information at the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships homepage.