The 2026 Edmonton Athletics Invitational marked a memorable one for Ajax, Ont.’s Sadé McCreath, who delivered the breakthrough of her career in the 100m prelims to become the fastest woman in Canadian history.
The annual event, held Sunday at Foote Field stadium, saw the 30-year-old win her first-round heat in a wind-legal 10.86 seconds (+1.7 m/s), the eighth-fastest time in the world this year, smashing Audrey Leduc‘s national record by 0.08 seconds.
McCreath entered the event with a best of 10.95 seconds; the breakthrough marks her first time dipping under the 11-second barrier this season.
Leduc had set the previous mark of 10.94 seconds at the same event last year.
Unfavourable winds for Leduc
Despite losing the national record and facing unfavourable winds, Leduc, the reigning three-time Canadian 100m and 200m champion and former national record holder in both, still successfully defended her meet title.
The Gatineau, Que., native won the other preliminary heat in a wind-illegal 10.88 seconds (+3.2 m/s). In the final, she took the win in another wind-illegal run of 10.90 (+2.6 m/s), with McCreath grabbing second in 10.95. Alia Armstrong of the U.S. took third in 11.00.
Sade McCreath looks on after falling short of qualification in the women’s 100m. Photo: Nick Iwanyshyn
McCreath on the rise
While the performance was historic, it was far from out of nowhere. McCreath has spent the last few seasons establishing herself as one of Canada’s top sprinters and Leduc’s closest challenger.
At the Paris 2024 Games, McCreath became an Olympic finalist and set a new Canadian record in the 4x100m relay. Last year, she ran a breakthrough 10.95-second 100m, which, at the time, matched Leduc’s Canadian record and marked the fastest women’s 100m on Canadian soil. It also qualified her for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Ontario sprinter runs electric 100m, ties Canadian record
Last month, McCreath made her Diamond League debut in Stockholm, before going on to take silver at the 2026 Canadian Track & Field Championships in Ottawa, where Leduc claimed her third straight 100m and 200m titles. Two weeks ago, McCreath won the 2026 Pan American Athletics Championships in Medellín, Colombia, in 11.10, while Leduc took gold in the women’s 200m.
Arop records fastest 800m on Canadian soil
Fifteen minutes after McCreath’s record-breaking run, Edmonton’s own Marco Arop delivered a historic performance in the men’s 800m, recording the fastest 800m mark ever run on Canadian soil.
The 27-year-old, just two weeks after clocking a world-leading 1:41.84 at the Paris Diamond League, ran 1:42.13 in Edmonton to hold off the field by more than two seconds. Allon Clay of Japan took second in 1:44.32, while Scarborough, Ont.’s newly-minted national champion Abdullahi Hassan ran 1:44.68 for third. Prefontaine Classic winner Brandon Miller of the U.S. had been slated to run but scratched from the event at the last minute.
See here for full results from the Edmonton Athletics Invitational.