Aiyanna Stiverne was instrumental in Canada’s fourth-place finish in the 4x400m relay final, the final event of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Second torchbearer in the country, Stiverne received the baton from Zoe Sherar in fourth place, followed closely by the Belgian runner. The 28-year-old momentarily found herself in third place when she edged out Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands.
Klaver, however, was able to come back to Stiverne to take back the provisional third place. The Quebecer was still able to consolidate the country’s lead over Belgium, who found themselves fifth.
“I think I did a really good 400m, but if I wonder if I went with the right strategy or if I could have pushed a bit more. I gave everything to ensure that my teammates found themselves in the best possible conditions to conclude the race,” mentioned Stiverne in an interview with Sportcom.
“There was traffic, it was going really, really fast. It was an intense race of a very high level. »
Kyra Constantine and Grace Konrad kept up the pace for the Maple Leaf in the final 200 meters to wrap up the worlds in fourth place with a time of 3:22.42.
“We are really happy with the way we raced, it was one of our best times ever and our best this year. Fourth places are starting to haunt us though, it’s a hard finish to accept because it’s so close to a medal,” explained Stiverne, who was competing at his fifth World Championships in Budapest.
Canada also achieved that rank in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics in the 4x400m relay, but finished fifth at the World Championships in Eugene, Ore., in 2022.
In the final stretch, Stacey Ann Williams and Jamaica seemed to be heading for victory thanks to a considerable lead over the Briton Nicole Yeargin who was second. However, the Dutch Femke Bol should not be counted as beaten.
The last torchbearer from the Netherlands made a spectacular comeback in the last 100 meters to beat the Jamaican a few meters from the finish line and at the same time offer the gold medal to her country.
Jamaica was second (0.16 seconds) and Great Britain third (0.32 seconds).
Silver medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Stiverne will miss the event this fall in Santiago, Chile, preferring to focus on her preparation for the Paris Olympics where expectations will be high. on his side.
“I want to work on my speed this winter to get faster and faster. In Paris, I would like to be able to participate in the 400m individual and the relay. It is special to be able to share these moments with my teammates and I think that at the Games next summer, we will be fired up to get on the podium,” concluded Aiyanna Stiverne.