Sarah Mitton regained her winning form in the shot put circle and teammate Andre De Grasse looked healthy on the track after nearly a three-month absence as the Canadians delivered solid performances ahead of the World Athletics Championships on Sunday in China.
Mitton had a best throw of 19.81 metres to defeat Sweden’s Fanny Roos (19.35) and China’s Zhang Linru (19.05) at a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold track and field meet in Beijing.
The 29-year-old Canadian rebounded from being stripped of her Diamond League Trophy on Aug. 27 following a successful protest of her winning throw in Zürich.
Her second attempt in Switzerland measured 20.67 but, following a review by judges, Mitton was ruled to have stepped out of the throwing circle before the shot hit the ground, thereby making her throw invalid. She also appeared to clip the front toe board. Mitton’s second-best throw of 19.99 bumped her to third place.
Mitton is preparing for her fourth world championships. She debuted at the event in 2019 and threw 17.24 but didn’t advance from the qualifying round in Doha, Qatar. The Brooklyn, N.S., native was fourth (19.77) at the 2022 worlds in Eugene, Ore., and second two years ago in Budapest, Hungary, where Mitton topped 20 metres with a 20.08 best throw.
WATCH | Mitton throws 19.81 metres at athletics worlds tune-up in China:
Another shot put victory for Canada’s Sarah Mitton
De Grasse returned from hamstring tightness to place third on Sunday in his first race since June 17 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
The five-foot-nine sprinter was quick out of the starting blocks and gained ground on the leaders over the final 30 metres on a warm and clear evening in China.
His 10.16-second finishing time was only 1-100th off his season best from the campaign’s final Grand Slam Track event on June 1 in Philadelphia. De Grasse ran a wind-aided 10.05 to open his season in the distance on May 3 in Miramar, Fla., and 10.23 in Turku.
WATCH | De Grasse 3rd in men’s 100m in return from injury:
De Grasse 3rd at 100-metre World Athletics Continental Tour stop in Beijing
Sunday’s competition was only De Grasse’s fourth of the season in the 100 and first at the National Stadium in Beijing since his 2015 world championships debut when he earned a bronze medal in 9.92.
De Grasse will attend an Athletics Canada training camp in Gifu, Japan before travelling to his fifth world championships. He was a triple medallist at the 2021 Olympics, including bronze in the 100.
De Grasse, 30, will enter that competition ranked 52nd in the world in the 100 and 22nd in the 200.
He opted to rest his hamstring rather than defend his Canadian title on Aug. 1 in Ottawa.
Omani Ali Al Balushi posted a 10.09 personal best to capture Sunday’s race, 3-100ths ahead of Brandon Hicklin of the United States.
Fellow American Justin Gatlin’s 9.87 meet record has stood since May 21, 2014.
The World Athletics Championships run Sept. 13-21, with Canada sending four defending champions for the first time in the event’s history.
Hammer throwers Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers, 800-metre runner Marco Arop and decathlete Pierce LePage are part of the 59-athlete Canadian team.
Canada’s squad also includes the Olympic champion 4×100 sprint relay team of Toronto’s Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney, Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., along De Grasse. There is also 2021 Olympic champion decathlete and 2023 world silver medallist Damian Warner (London, Ont.) and 2021 Olympic 5,000-metre silver medallist Moh Ahmed of St. Catharines, Ont.
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WATCH | Full replay coverage of Sunday’s Continental Tour track and field meet:
World Athletics Continental Tour Beijing
