'It all starts here': Olympic champion 4x100m relay team begins journey to world championships

Last year's Paris Olympics provided some incredible moments for Canadian track, arguably none more thrilling than the gold-medal victory in the men's 4x100-metre relay final.

This weekend, that team of Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Jerome Blake is back where their journey to Olympic gold began, the World Athletics Relays, and are eager to once again use the event as a launching pad.

This year's meet in Guangzhou, China, provides a direct pathway to the big event on this season's competition calendar: the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.

Relay teams can qualify a spot at worlds by reaching their respective finals in Guangzhou.

"It's super important. It all starts here in World Relays in China," De Grasse said. "The main objective for us [is to] make sure that we qualify … so that we are at the world championships when it matters."

Watch all the action from World Athletics Relays beginning on Saturday at 7 a.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.

After the highs reached by Canadian track athletes in Paris, there wasn't much time for them to catch their breath before the build toward the world championships. Canadian head coach Glenroy Gilbert says this weekend's competition is the perfect place for his athletes to zero in on the season ahead.

"You're always driving towards the benchmark event," Gilbert said. "We're just coming off an Olympic year, so athletes' focus or drive [and] determination wanes a little bit because of the whole Olympic high."

WATCH | De Grasse on expectations for the relay team:

CBC Sports spoke to Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse ahead of the world athletic relays in China, about what the team is hoping to accomplish, and how they're trying to be the best relay team in Canadian history.

Canada will be looking to qualify men's and women's teams in both the 4x100m and 4x400m events. Canadians will also run in the mixed 4x400m and 4x100m competitions, with the latter event making its debut at this World Relays.

"We're always trying to qualify as many relays as we can for the world championships," Gilbert said. "So right now we obviously want to give the athletes a positive experience, [and] a positive experience will come by way of them performing well enough at least to qualify the spot.

"The big focus will be in Tokyo later in the summer."

Zoe Sherar, Alyssa Marsh, and Kyra Constantine – three members of the Canadian women's 4x400m team that won bronze at the 2024 World Relays – will be among those back in action in Guangzhou.

WATCH | The Canadian men's 4x100m relay team wins gold in Paris:

Andre De Grasse led Canada's 4x100m relay team to a stunning Olympic victory in Paris. The National breaks down the gold medal comeback with analysis from legendary Canadian runner Donovan Bailey, who anchored the 1996 gold medal relay in Atlanta.

So, too, will the World Relays silver medallists in the men's 4x100 – De Grasse, Brown, Rodney, and Blake. Guangzhou will be the second meet of the season for the team after they won the Florida Relays in early April.

De Grasse, Brown and Rodney have teamed together since 2016, with Blake joining the mix in time to help capture Olympic silver in Tokyo in 2021. A year later, they combined to win the world title in Eugene, Ore., before striking gold at Paris 2024.

Gilbert knows what it takes to have sustained success in the relay. The 56-year-old was part of Canada's Olympic gold-medal winning 4x100 team in 1996, as well as two world title wins. He believes the current Canadian team has developed a chemistry and familiarity that's "massive" to relay success.

"The more you run together, the more flawless you become, especially if everybody's engaged and everybody feels an accountability for their role in their part of that relay," Gilbert said.

"We had the same situation 30 years ago with my team, but the same thing with these guys is being able to focus and stay with what they need to do, recognizing that they all have to be ready and they take that part of it very serious. The relay means a lot to them."

De Grasse agrees, but he credits part of his team's success to Gilbert, who De Grasse calls their "secret weapon."

"To have a guy like Glenroy in our corner, it's really special," De Grasse said. "You know, you don't get that opportunity a lot, to be able to have someone that's done it before and knows what it takes and give us that mentorship and that leadership that he provides."

Becoming Olympic champions might lead some teams to rest on their laurels, and take their foot off the gas pedal, but Gilbert says De Grasse and his teammates have turned the page on 2024.

"It's a new race. It's a new day. It's an opportunity for them to go up against the rest of the world," Gilbert said. "The focus is to qualify the spot. Fine tune, and sharpen the sword's edge for the world championships – because that's what really matters."

De Grasse agrees – and believes that he and his teammates' experience can be a positive without living in the past.

"We have a world championship under our belt already. So we kind of know what it takes to be at our best. And if all four guys are running well individually, when we put that team together, it's going to be unstoppable."

While qualification for worlds is the main mission for Team Canada in Guangzhou, there is another goal that won't be found on a giant placard that says 'QUALIFIED,' or on any results page. At least, not anytime soon.

The World Athletics Relays represent important reps on the world stage for Canada's next generation of sprinters.

"I explained this to the younger guys – it is one thing to be fast, and that's the prerequisite of having a good relay. You need to be fast, but the other part of it is being able to compete on the world stage, which takes time and experience," Gilbert said.

"It's not just a foregone conclusion that you get in there and all of a sudden you're hitting it out of the park like the other guys. It takes time and that's what the camps and the exposure to a meet like this is all about."

The Canadian roster is an intentional mix of returning veterans and fresh faces, part of the plan to help develop the next crop of sprinters, like Duan Asemota, Eliezer Adjibi, and Malachi Murray.

"The three of these guys have been pretty solid, kind of been a staple … coming up behind where the [current 4x100m] guys are now," Gilbert said. "I think [they're] the big three that you'd probably have to look out for."

The development of the next generation of relay sprinters is also a big deal for De Grasse, too.

"I know a lot of the younger guys are coming up and they want a chance to prove themselves and get on the team as well. So I look forward to welcoming the new guys that are coming to [the] relays, [and] getting to know them," he said.

"[It's] a chance for them to have their opportunity, and [I'm] just trying to coach them and mentor them so that when the four of us are done, or maybe they can take one of our spots, that they're ready for the challenge."

Full Canadian roster at World Athletics Relays

*Reserve