Canada’s Santiago 2023 athletics team announced
TORONTO (September 21, 2023) – Athletics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s athletics team nominated to compete at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
The Team Canada athletics team for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games is:
Athletes
Tatiana Aholou (Laval, Que.)
Kaila Butler (Port Coquitlam, B.C.)
Alycia Butterworth (Parksville, B.C.)
Keira Christie-Galloway (Ottawa, Ont.)
Kate Current (Cobourg, Ont.)
Jean-Simon Desgagnés (Saint Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que)
Evan Dunfee (Richmond, B.C.)
Georgia Ellenwood (Langley, B.C.)
Stephen Evans (Orleans, Ont.)
Grace Fetherstonhaugh (New Westminster, B.C.)
Robert Heppenstall (Hamilton, Ont.)
Rachel Hyink (Lacombe, Alta.)
Ethan Katzberg (Nanaimo, B.C.)
Adam Keenan (Victoria, B.C.)
Grace Konrad (Edmonton, Alta.)
Jeremiah Lauzon (Red Deer, Alta.)
Brandon Letts (Mississauga, Ont.)
Zakary Mama-Yari (Gatineau, Que.)
Myles Misener-Daley (Hamilton, Ont.)
Sarah Mitton (Brooklyn, N.S.)
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (Quebec, Que.)
Madeline Price (Toronto, Ont.)
Callum Robinson (Victoria, B.C.)
Brianna Scott (Vancouver, B.C.)
Norris Spike (Brampton, Ont.)
Julie-Anne Staehli (Lucknow, Ont.)
Addy Townsend (Coquitlam, B.C.)
Thirteen of the Santiago-bound athletes have competed at the World Athletics Championships, 11 of whom contributed to Canada’s best-ever team performance at the event, including two medallists: Ethan Katzberg (gold, men’s hammer throw) and Sarah Mitton (silver, women’s shot put). Of the 27 athletes named to the Santiago 2023 team, 23 of them will make their Pan American Games debuts.
While six members of this team achieved the Santiago 2023 qualification standard for their event at Worlds, 11 of the athletes hit the necessary qualification standard at the 2023 Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships in Langley, B.C., this past July.
Sarah Mitton, whose silver medal in Budapest was Canada’s first ever world championship medal in women’s shot put, has her sights set high for Santiago, which will be her second appearance at the Pan Am Games, after finishing sixth at Lima 2019.
“My goal for Pan Ams is to bring home a gold medal. The fire is still very much alive to become the best in the event,” said Mitton, who made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020. “I am looking to use the Pan American Games as another opportunity to master the craft of competing. The opportunity to wear the maple leaf is something that I dreamt of as a kid. I try to appreciate every experience because it’s a proud feeling representing your country.”
Other members of the team spent the summer rewriting the Canadian record books. Ethan Katzberg became Canada’s first-ever world champion and the youngest ever men’s world champion in hammer throw, while setting a new Canadian record. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who won 1500m bronze at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, set a new national benchmark in the non-Olympic 2000m event and hit the Paris 2024 qualifying standard for the 1500m. Evan Dunfee clocked a new Canadian record in the 20km race walk at the World Athletics Championships, smashing his personal best by two minutes as he finished just off the podium in fourth place.
Dunfee won gold in the 20km race walk on home soil at Toronto 2015. He went on to win bronze at the 2019 World Athletics Championships before earning his first Olympic medal – also a bronze — at Tokyo 2020. Both bronze medals were won in the 50km race walk, which has since been removed from the Olympic program.
“This team is very, very diverse. It includes athletes representing Canada for the first time all the way through to a world champion, so each athlete’s goals will be individual. Most will be looking to secure maximum points towards qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Some will be looking to build their resume of major international medals,” said Athletics Canada High Performance Director Simon Nathan. “The common thread for the team will be to perform on demand – beating their pre-event ranking, setting new season’s bests or personal bests, and to build their World Ranking points for Olympic qualification.”
The 20km race walk will be contested on October 29 (Day 9), while the track and field events take place October 30 to November 4 (Days 10 to 15) at the Estadio Nacional.
“It’s a privilege to welcome the athletics team to the Pan American Games, where your individual journeys converge to create something truly extraordinary,” said Christine Girard, Team Canada’s Santiago 2023 Chef de Mission. “I can’t wait to have the honour of witnessing your dedication up close and be in awe of the passion that drives each of you. Your hard work has brought you here, and I’m certain your performances will leave a lasting impression. Let’s make these Games a chapter in your athletic story that you’ll carry with you forever, and that will inspire an entire nation!”
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.
The latest Team Canada Santiago 2023 roster can be found here.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Caroline Sharp, National Teams Communications Specialist
Athletics Canada
C: 613-323-5605
E: caroline.sharp@athletics.ca
Tara MacBournie, Team Canada Santiago 2023 Sport Communications Lead
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca