The 2024 Paris Olympic Games is only a few days away and members of Team Canada are preparing to take home gold!
Team Canada includes 337 athletes spanning 32 sports, from archery, track, swimming and fencing, among others. Ahead of the big games, Now Toronto sat down with two prominent Toronto sprinters about their preparation, goals and expectations for this year’s summer Olympics.
KYRA CONSTANTINE
Brampton native Kyra Constantine specializes in 400 metre relay races. She made her debut at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 when she ran the third leg of the 4x400m relay and finished fourth in the final. In 2021, she finished third at the NCAA Championships and during the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, she finished fourth with the 4x400m relay team.
Constantine is set to run the women’s 400 metre, as well as the women’s 4×400 metre at the Paris Olympics.
“I currently train in Houston, Texas with coach Vince Anderson, and it’s my first year in the program, but it’s been really well and leading up to Paris, now, we train Monday through Friday. Sometimes we’ll compete on Saturday or practice on Saturday. I lift weights twice a week,” she said in an interview with Now Toronto.
For Constantine, training can occasionally be more difficult because of her asthma.
“I think it just takes me longer to get up, whereas some people can finish a workout, walk around and be done. It definitely takes me a second to get my breathing together and get up after a run. I’ve had it for a while, so I feel like I know how to deal with it. I know that I just take a longer time to recover and I’m OK with it,” she explained.
This time around, Constantine says her two biggest challenges coming into the field are muscle injuries and the mental battle of juggling different factors such as her contract and injuries.
“The Olympics in itself is a lot of pressure and stuff like that. So, I can’t overdo anything, I can’t stress about anything too much because one, it can take the moment away, and you stop enjoying it as much. And two, you want to make sure that you’re working hard, but also enjoying the process. And that’s probably the hardest part for me,” she said.
She says the goal is, of course, to get a medal and to hopefully break the Canadian record in the women’s 4×400 metre race.
When it comes to representing Canada on a global stage, Constantine says she never gets tired of the feeling.
“…You are the select four out of the whole country to represent the country is always the coolest feeling ever, never gets old. My first Canadian team to now, like the feeling doesn’t change. When I made my first Canadian team as a kid, I think I was in Grade 10, I remember I boohooed out of nowhere and I was just so happy and like the feeling, it just stays,” she shared.
Aside from track, many fans will be surprised to hear that Constantine also has a knack for acting. The track and field star made an appearance on YTV show Splatalot! and was even cast for Wipeout. However, due to the Tokyo Olympics, she was unable to make the commitment.
CRYSTAL EMMANUEL-AHYE
In addition to Constantine, Toronto-based Canadian sprinter Crystal Emmanuel-Ahye will also be running the women’s 4×100 metre race. The four-time Olympian first grew up in Barbados where she was inspired by her friends and family to pursue track. Years later, she moved to Canada to start a new life.
Emmanuel-Ahye’s first Olympic debut was at the London games in 2012 where she made the semifinals for the 200m race. In 2016, she competed in three sprints in Rio: the 200m,100m and 4x100m relay. During the most recent 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she reached the semifinals in the 100m and 200m.
Leading up to the Paris Olympics, Emmanuel-Ahye says she’s training four days a week and occasionally on Saturdays.
“In a day, I would say, wake up, breakfast, get ready for training. I get to training about 9:30-10 a.m. I train from 10 a.m until 12 p.m, and then I go into the weight room from 12 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. and then I have a mini lunch, and then I do a shakeout at the end of training, and then I go to work after,” she said in an interview with Now.
The accomplished athlete says she worked a lot on herself since the last Olympics and following an injury last year. She shared gratitude for her coach, her team and to God for helping her overcome the setback and pushing her to persevere.
“I had a lot of injuries and also mental setbacks where I wanted to give up because last season I didn’t compete. I was injured. I tore my quad in two places. And I was just like, ‘OK, I think this is it. Maybe it’s time to step back and see, am I still motivated to be in the sport or is it time to go see what else is in the world?’” she said.
“So, going to my team and letting them know like this is how I feel, is a very important part of my journey, because I’ve been in the sport for so long and not having those support systems in place, I think I would’ve given up and not be at my fourth Olympics,” she continued.
Emmanuel-Ahye is excited to be back on the track and to also share her knowledge with others on her team.
“You made it here and now it’s time to deliver. All you have to do is believe in yourself. So, my excitement is the 4x100m women’s team, we know we’re going to do what we have to to make it, to be successful in this Olympics,” she said.
When it comes to other hobbies or hidden talents, the athlete sarcastically shared that she likes to sing and secretly enjoys collecting Hello Kitty collectibles and Air Jordan’s.
Constantine and Emmanuel-Ahye are set to represent Team Canada at Paris Olympics 2024 beginning on July 26 until Aug. 11.
For the full Olympic Games schedule, click here.
