Watson anchors Canada to fourth place at World Relays

By Medicine Hat News on May 15, 2019.

Seven persons' Sage Watson competes in a women's 400-metre hurdles semifinal at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 16, 2016.

Sage Watson did all she could but it was a familiar finish for her and the Canadian women’s 4×400 metre relay team at the IAAF World Relays.

At Yokohama, Japan Sunday, Watson anchored the team to a fourth-place finish – the same spot it earned at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Watson and Alicia Brown are holdovers from that team. The team this past weekend also included Madeline Price and Maya Stephens.

“Tonight was bitter sweet,” wrote Watson on her Instagram account following the result. “Such an honor to represent Canada but we were so close to a medal, can’t wait to see what this team does in the future!”

The Seven Persons native and Hat High alumnus took the baton in fifth place Sunday for the final lap. She passed a fading Jamaica at the finish line, a half second behind the top three teams of Poland, the United States and Italy. Poland won in 3:27.49, while Canada finished in 3:28.21.

Getting to the finals was fairly straightforward. Watson anchored a second-place finish in Saturday’s semifinal heat, Canada crossing the line in 3:28.75, but they got upgraded to first when Ukraine was disqualified for obstruction.

The World Relays were an early test for the Canadians, who were second at the Florida relays back in March. By finishing in the top 10 they accomplished one of their goals, which was to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar in October.