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Eugene, OR — LIU alum Brendon Rodney has struck gold.
Running the third leg of the 4x100m relay, Rodney, a two-time NCAA All-American in the outdoor 200m, and teammates Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and André De Grasse led Canada to a first-place finish at the World Athletics Championships, held at Haywood Field at the University of Oregon last weekend.
In the process, the foursome set a Canadian record with what is the currently the fastest time in the world this season (37.48). It marked Canada’s first gold medal in the event at the World Championships in 25 years.
“It’s a great feeling to be a gold medalist,” said Rodney. “It’s something that everybody aspires to be, especially as an athlete. We aspire to win, and be the best at the highest level. For me, it’s always a great feeling to go out and represent my country and compete at the highest level there is in my sport.”
It isn’t the first time that Rodney and his teammates have put Canada on the map in the event.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the quartet took bronze in the 4x100m relay with a time of 37.70, finishing just behind Italy (37.50) and Great Britain (37.51). The Brampton, Ontario native also led Canada to a third-place finish in the event at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics.
A 2016 graduate of LIU, Rodney was a three-time NEC Most Valuable Performer (2014, 2015, 2016) and a three-time NCAA Championship qualifier in the 200m (2014, 2016, 2016) in outdoor competition. Also capturing the NEC Track Performer of the Meet Award in 2014 and the NEC Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints) Award in 2016, he won seven NEC outdoor individual championships, including four in the 200m, and is the league’s record holder in the 100m and 200m dashes.
Rodney finished third in the 200m at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Also an indoor track and field NCAA All-American, Rodney was a two-time NCAA qualifier in the indoor 200m, a three-time NEC Track Performer of the Meet, the league’s Most Valuable Performer (2014). He owns the NEC’s record in the 200m and is a six-time individual champion.