How to watch and follow the Canadian 5K Championships this Sunday
On Sunday September 11th in Moncton, NB, Canada’s fastest 5K runners will battle it out for the national title, held for the first time in four years. Six Canadian Olympians are in the field of 70 elite runners, along with several Canadian record holders.
Here’s a preview of everything you need to know, including who to watch and how to watch the 2022 Canadian 5K Championships.
like watching
For the first time, Canadian track fans can stream the race for free with Atlantic Online TV (no subscription required). The men’s 5K championship race begins at 10:15 a.m. ET and the women’s championship race follows at 10:45 a.m. ET. Coverage of the event begins at 8:15 a.m. ET, with coverage of the 5K open race beginning at 8:15 a.m. ET
Preview for men
Kitchener, Ont. indigenous Ben Flanagan made his mark on the roads this summer, winning his third Falmouth Road Race title and breaking the Canadian 10K road record at the BAA 10K in Boston. Flanagan is the reigning Canadian 5K champion, having last won the event in 2018 with a time of 13:56. The 27-year-old has his sights set on the Canadian 5K record of 13:35 and currently holds a personal best of 13:20 in the 5,000m at the track.
Flanagan also went unbeaten in all four of his 5,000m races this season.
Two-time Olympic champion Luc Bruchet will attempt to challenge Flanagan for the highest honors. He finished third behind Flanagan at the Canadian 10k Championships in May and second behind him at the 2021 10k Championships in Toronto. Bruchet has the fastest 5,000m time in the field at 13:12.56 in 2021.
Vancouver’s John gay is another men’s runner to watch. Last year, Gay had an impressive season, winning the Canadian XC Championships in Ottawa and reaching the final of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics. Earlier this season, Gay ran a personal best 5,000m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in 13:29.82.
Two other men who could potentially land on the podium are 2021 U Sports XC champions Mitch Ubene and Andrew Alexander (a former NCAA standout with Notre Dame University). In June, Ubene ran the 5,000m with a personal best of 13:36.71 for a third-place finish at the Canadian Athletics Championships in Langley, BC, Alexander has posted multiple under-14-minute times in the 5,000m throughout the college This race will be be the first road 5K race.
Preview for women
Julie Anne Stähli from Lucknow, Ontario, is leading the women’s field and returning to the road racing scene after spending most of the 2022 season with an injury. Staehli is the only woman in the field to run the 5,000m under 15 minutes, but she hasn’t reached that U15 form this season. She will go into the race as a favorite and try to get back on the podium after finishing third in 2018.
Olympic Steeplechase Regan Yee, Alycia Butterworth and Erin Teschuk Also top the elite list of women all keen to win their first Canadian 5K title. Yee recently won a bronze medal for Canada in steeplechase at the NACAC track and field championships in the Bahamas.
Two other athletes to watch in the women’s are from Toronto Sasha Gollisch and Branna MacDougall from Kingston, Ont. Gollish has run well this season, finishing on the podium at four different Canadian Championships (10K, 10,000m, Half Marathon and T&F). MacDougall, 24, stepped up to marathon and has had tons of success dropping her PB to 2:29:00. MacDougall has held a 5k PB of 16:23 on the road since 2017 and is set to break her mark on Sunday.
For more information on the Medavie Canadian 5K Championships from Moncton, NB click here. To view the entire elite list, click here.