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“The stage was set. We had to go mano a mano, well of course we’re going against everybody but we knew the U.S., they had a grudge against us,” Brown told reporters. “I train with three of them, so, they’ve been talking a lot of smack and we were looking forward to this race. 

“They got the best of us today but I still feel like if we go out there again, circumstances could be different next time. Us four, whenever we get together, anything is possible. And it doesn’t matter what we do individually, as a unit we’re a special team.”

Canada came into Sunday’s race being the Olympic champions, the first time Canada won gold in the event since the 1996 Olympics. The group ran 37.50 to win gold in Paris in 2024.

However, it’s a return to the podium for the Canadian team at worlds after not making the final in 2023. The group won gold at the 2022 world championships, when De Grasse outran American Noah Lyles to the line in a memorable finish.

De Grasse, Brown and Rodney have competed alongside each other on the relay team since 2015, with Blake joining in 2019. In the last 10 years, Canada has won Olympic gold (2024), silver (2021) and bronze (2016), in addition to world championship gold (2022), silver (2025) and bronze (2015) in the men’s 4x100 relay.

Hints of what may or may not be in the future came up after the race, however. Brown and Rodney will be 35 years old by the next worlds in 2027, with De Grasse to turn 33 later that year and Blake 32.

“One of the best teams that Canada has ever seen,” Brown said. “The consistency, the ability to rise up to the moment time and time again speaks for itself. 

“I just want to say I’m so grateful to run with these guys because I never know what the team is going to look like in two years, the next world championships. Whether it’s us again or the new guys, we’re going to continue that legacy.”

Canada was running strong through the rainy conditions at Japan National Stadium, with their usual clean handoffs in play. Rodney handed the baton off to De Grasse in second place behind the Americans, with Ghana in third.

De Grasse was able to keep Dutch anchor Elvis Afrifa at bay after he had pulled the Netherlands ahead of Ghana. But De Grasse couldn’t chase down Lyles, who won bronze in the 100 and gold in the 200 earlier at the world championships.

The Americans were .13 seconds ahead of Canada by the final handoff, with Lyles running an 8.84-second split, to De Grasse’s 8.97.

“I think that was our first time actually running in the rain, so different experience than usual. But we did our thing. We had a great time,” De Grasse said. 

“Almost broke the national record (of 37.48 seconds), we were so close. We run it back next time, I know we can do it. We’re looking good, we’re looking good. We’ll see what happens for the future.”

Just minutes before, Canada’s women’s 4x100 relay squad finished seventh. Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Eloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc finished with a time of 42.82 seconds.

The U.S. (41.75), Jamaica (41.79) and Germany (41.87) finished on the podium.

The men’s relay podium finish allowed Canada to close the world championships with five medals (three gold, one silver, one bronze). Canada placed third on the medal table thanks to the three golds, with the U.S. leading the way with 16 and Kenya having won seven.

Evan Dunfee of Richmond, B.C., won gold in the men’s 35-kilometre race walk, Camryn Rogers, also from Richmond, earned gold in the women’s hammer throw, while Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., struck gold in the men’s hammer throw.

Edmonton’s Marco Arop took bronze in the men’s 800 on Saturday.

Rogers and Katzberg became the first Canadians to ever defend their world titles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2025.