A Canadian record and a victory in memory of her grandfather for Audrey Leduc

Sprinter Audrey Leduc had two very good reasons to fly on the track at the Edmonton Athletics Invitational on Sunday night.

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On the one hand, she did not want to share her Canadian 100m record with Sadé McCreath for too long, and on the other, she wanted to give a victory to her grandfather Aurèle Prescott, who died on June 30 at the age of 78.

"My grandfather was always there to support me and was my biggest supporter," Leduc said. "He knew my stats and all the technical terms. His passing was obviously an extra source of motivation. This race had a special feel, since it was the first since his passing."

Her time of 10.94 seconds in the preliminaries allowed her to shave 0.01 seconds off her Canadian record of 10.95 seconds. McCreath had achieved the same time on June 22 in London. Her slower time, with a slight headwind, allowed her to win the final.

"When I saw Sadé's performance, I said to myself: wake up, Audrey," she said. "I didn't want to share my record for too long. Sadé's performance is good for her and for Canadian sprinting. In Edmonton, we weren't in the same heat and I was able to focus on the technical aspects of my race. I executed very well to take the victory and a personal best."

Fabrice Akué was delighted with his protégé's performance. "Audrey gives her all, and that's a great strength," her coach explained. "She was emotional because of her grandfather's death. She wanted to lower her record and win, but that required good execution. At the international level, it's better to execute well than to give it your all."

"Audrey handled the situation very well and channeled her energy well," added Akué. "In the preliminaries, when she broke her Canadian record, she had one of the best races of her career. We saw a new Audrey."

Baptism of the Diamond League

Leduc experienced her Diamond League debut in Paris on June 20 under difficult circumstances. She finished ^7th out of eight girls at the start of the 200m.

"I went through an emotional drain before leaving," she said. "We didn't know if my grandfather would make it through his surgery. When I arrived in Paris, I was already tired and had little energy left. I was able to rest before Edmonton."

Canadian Championship at home

Already qualified for the 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, the 26-year-old sprinter from Gatineau will also try to secure her spot in the 200m at the national championships in her backyard, Ottawa, from July 30 to August 3, or at the NACAC (continental championship) in the Bahamas in mid-August.

"There won't be any Olympic trials at stake like there was at last year's nationals in Montreal, but it won't be any less stressful," she warned. "It's fast-paced right now in Canada, and we can't afford to fall asleep on the starting line. It's exciting to be racing at home, and I hope we put on a good show."