Record-setting sprinter Wendy Alexis builds bridge over political divides with Canadian friendliness at world masters athletics championships in U.S.

By Martin Cleary

Wendy Alexis had the experience of a lifetime at last week’s World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, but it wasn’t all centred around her winning three medals and earning her first two world-record times.

When the Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club sprinter registered for the worlds in Gainesville, Florida, the relationship between Canada and the United States was good. But in the last few months, everything has soured under the startling governance of the Donald Trump administration.

Initially, Alexis debated whether to measure her sprinting against the best on the planet at a world-class American sports venue or stay at home. In the end, she decided to pack her bags, which included a number of Canadian flags.

“For everyone I talked to about going, it was a similar thing,” Alexis said in a phone interview this week about whether her Canadian peers would go or not go. “A lot of people from a lot of places were kind of reluctant to go and had reservations.

“I did have to make a decision at some point. I had registered early, but when I registered there was none of this political stuff. I weighed a lot of things and I was good with that (a decision to travel to Gainesville).”

Representing Canada won out over a fear of potential trouble. By the time she reached Gainesville, the American team athletes were waiting for her and the rest of the Canadian contingent with open arms, huge smiles and an acceptance beyond belief.

“I don’t quite know how to describe … the experience. It was kind of epic,” she recalled in a thoughtful response.

“The reception was unbelievable. We were so graciously welcomed and warmly embraced. Everything else on the track was extra.”

In the wake of Trump’s election to a second term as the United States’ president, he has assaulted Canada by wanting to make his northern ally the 51st state and slapped his neighbour with 25-per-cent tariffs.

“We were the most important people there,” Alexis said. “This was exceptional. It was a deliberate conscious effort. The Americans were incredible. Everyone who met us hugged us and apologized for their government’s treatment of us.”

At the opening ceremony, which Alexis missed because she competed early the next day, representatives from all 99 countries marched into the Alachua County Sports and Events Centre. The Canadian team received an unrivalled welcome.

“When Canada was announced, our team got the loudest cheers and all the Americans stood and applauded. This set the stage early. It was the warmest … most positive, un-nationalist world championship I had ever been to,” Alexis added.

“The Americans said they were afraid we wouldn’t come. At every opportunity, they thanked us for coming.”

Every national delegation was allocated a seating section in the stands around the 200-metre track and Canada’s looked down on the finish line. There was a large Canadian flag behind them.

But throughout the championships, American and Mexican team athletes continually moved into the Canadian zone, which represented North American friendship and togetherness.

“We all know about the hockey and the rivalry (at the 4 Nations Face-Off), but we’re all old,” indicated the 70-year-old. “There wasn’t any need for that. We’re all friends. People who were good friends before are better friends now. People who weren’t friends before are friends now and are asking to keep in touch. There was a sense of camaraderie.”

When Alexis packed her suitcases, she took a good supply of Canadian flags of various sizes. But she used them in an interesting manner.

“The rah-rah flag waving was not necessary to do. There was no grandstanding,” she explained.

“But instead, on the podium after (winning) the 60 metres, I gave little Canadian flags to the Puerto Rican runner, who placed second, and the American, who was third. They both cried.

“The Americans were very grateful we were there. There are always reflections after (championships) are over and people go back to their regular lives. Some messages people posted were really profound. We were touched by the generosity of the Americans.”

Calmed by the welcoming acceptance of her American peers, Alexis went about her sprinting in commanding fashion. She won women’s 65-69 class 60 metres in 8.95 seconds and was fourth in the 200 metres, but broke the women’s 70-74 world record three times.

She also earned two relay medals in the 65-69 division – gold in the women’s 4×200-metre final and silver in the mixed 4×200-metre race.

Alexis had to compete in the women’s 65-69 class because she was 69 on the first day of the world championships, which determined her competition grouping. She turned 70 years old a few days after the start of the worlds, which made her eligible for the record books in her new class.

In her women’s 65-69 competition over 60 metres, Alexis posted the fastest time from the three heats at 8.98 seconds and won the final in 8.95 seconds. Puerto Rico’s Marie-Lande Mathieu was second in 9.02 seconds and Carol Robertson of the United States took third in 9.17 seconds.

“It was the two fastest races of my season. I didn’t expect to go under nine seconds and I did it twice,” continued Alexis, who added the indoor track was exceptionally fast. “I was the oldest in my age group.”

If Alexis had entered the championships as a 70-year-old, her two 60-metre times would have beaten the women’s 70-74 world record of 9.17 seconds. The women’s 65-69 world mark was 8.80 seconds.

Running as a 70-year-old in the women’s 65-69 class 200-metre races, Alexis smashed the women’s 70-74 world record of 31.17 seconds three times.

She won her opening heat and was second overall to Mathieu in 30.68 seconds. A semi-final time of 30.95 seconds allowed her to qualify automatically for the final. Alexis ran 30.33 seconds in the final to finish in fourth place and secure her first-ever world record time. Entering the worlds, she had only raced the 200-metre event once this season.

“When they announced I had broken the world record, my competitors celebrated my achievement and I was fourth,” Alexis said. “When I stepped on the track, I didn’t care (about placing) because I was so happy. I didn’t have a world record before.”

Alexis’ second world record came in the women’s 65-69 4×200-metre relay with teammates Carol LaFayette-Boyd, who is 82, Renata Macherzynska and Karla Del Grande. They ran the four laps in 2:07.42, which broke the world record by 2.32 seconds.

Their margin of victory was 9.57 seconds over the United States and 14.02 seconds over Germany.

In her final event, Alexis joined Macherzynska, Edwin Liu and Chris Finding to earn the silver medal in the 65-69 mixed 4×200-metre relay in 2:03.14. She ran the first leg of the relay. The Americans won in 2:01.53.

“For much of the time there, I felt like I was flying and couldn’t do anything wrong,” added Alexis, who had high praise for her Lions coach Sean Burges and her physiotherapist Theo Calligeris, who both designed specific programs on and off the track for her.

“It’s not all me,” Alexis insisted. “I have a coach, who works amazing things for me, and the best physio. I’m the last part of the equation. They gave me the tools to work.”

Meanwhile, Lions teammate Liz Maguire also gave stellar performances at worlds. She won the silver medal in the women’s 55-59 class 1,500 metres and the bronze in the 800 metres.

Her time of 5:08.49 in the 1,500-metre final was her fastest of the season and best time since 2017. American Michelle Rohl took gold in a championship record 4:50.34. Rohl and Maguire finished one-two respectively over the same distance at the 2024 world masters outdoor championships.

Maguire also was third in the 800-metre final in 2:32.40, which saw Rohl take gold as well in 2:25.13. In her heat, Maguire qualified for the final with a top-two finish and had the second-best time to Rohl in 2:44.93.

The Lions also had three other track athletes at the world indoor championships.

A personal-best time of 53.40 seconds gave Michael Conway 11th overall in the men’s 40-44 400 metres. Mike McInerney was 14th in the men’s 55-59 1,500 metres in 4:58.10. Lawrence Williams missed the semifinals of the men’s 50-54 200 metres by one place, when he was 19th overall in the heats in 25.87 seconds.