The 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships presented by Bell are off and running and a squad of Canada’s strongest para athletes grabbed the spotlight on Day 1.
Michael Paré got the week started in championship fashion, claiming the men’s 5000 metre wheelchair title in a time of 14:56.50.
Natalie Thirsk earned gold in the women’s 400 metre para ambulatory final, crossing the line with a time of 1:07.19.
Maitlan Knoke won the men’s seated discus final with his best throw of 29.80 metres. David Lipton earned silver (21.11 metres) and Daryl Yuen took bronze (20.31 metres).
Valerie DesRoches won the women’s seated discus with a Canadian women’s T34 record of 16.99 metres. Christel Robichaud and Amanda Fanizza completed the event podium.
“It went really well – it was absolutely brilliant. I set a new Canadian record, and I won the medal in the overall women’s seated throw classification. But there are other people who’ve done really well too and achieved loads of personal bests today,” DesRoches said.
Dante Del Cul advanced into the men’s para ambulatory 100 metre final with a Canadian T37 record time of 12.91 seconds. National team mainstays Zach Gingras, George Quarcoo, Brendan Cote-Williamson, and David Johson also punched their tickets to the final.
Chloe Dunbar set a personal best time and set the fastest semi-final time in the women’s para ambulatory 100 metres. Her time of 12.48 seconds shaved three-tenths of a second off her previous mark. Dunbar will take on Paralympians Marissa Papaconstantinou and Sheriauna Haase in Friday’s final.
Five Down, Five to Go in the Men’s Decathlon
The men’s decathlon field had a typically busy day, working through the first five events in the long road to crowning a national champion.
Nathaniel Paris sits in top spot after Day 1, banking 4199 points through five events. After standout performances in the 100 metres, 400 metres and long jump, he stands 173 points ahead of Jackson MacKay, and 508 points ahead of third-place Jared Hendricks-Polack.
“I love my country. I love representing my country. I love being here – anything for Canada,” said Paris. “My body was pretty beat up. I got a kind of bad lane draw (in the 400 metres), but I executed my race plan to a T, so it worked out all right. I’m quite happy with it.”
The U20 men’s decathlon is even tighter, as Caleb Pivin (3480) is only 9 points ahead of second-place Adam Freure (3471) and 192 points ahead of Jackson Tuplin (3288).
Qualification Nation
The first day of competition was marked with qualifying races across the U20 and senior divisions, notably in the 100 metres, 400 metres, 800 metres, and 1500 metres on the track.
In field events, qualifying rounds rounded out the day in U20 and senior events like shot put, discus, hammer throw, high jump, triple jump, and pole vault.
Access every result from Day 1 here.
Thursday at the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships presented by Bell
World and Olympic champion Camryn Rogers steps into the Terry Fox Athletic Facility throwing ring Thursday night, competing in the women’s hammer throw event, highlighting a day of throw finals in U20 hammer throw and shot put, as well as senior men’s discus.
The track heats up with finals all evening, crowning champs in 400 metre wheelchair, U20 and senior 5000 metres, and U20 and senior 3000 metre steeplechase, before wrapping with stacked fields racing the men’s and women’s 5000 metres presented by Flying Monkeys.
About the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships presented by Bell
The 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships Presented by Bell take centre stage at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa between June 17-21.
This year’s Championships will include 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 on schedules, live results, tickets and more at the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships homepage.
Stream all the action live from Ottawa on AthleticsCanada.tv. The live webcast and on demand videos are available for RunnerSpace +PLUS subscribers. Sign up here.
