Canadian Sprinters Take A Break To Help Focus On IPF Awareness

Canada’s top athletes have not really had a great time in 2017 as most of the top starts have been hampered with illness or injuries that effectively ruled them out of the World Championships that were held earlier this year. There were many who expected Andre de Grasse to be the man who took over the reins once Usain Bolt retired at the World Championships.

The 23 year old was confident that he could beat Bolt during the final race of his career but de Grasse had to withdraw with a hamstring strain. Canada also ended up losing Derek Drouin who is an Olympic high jump champion as well as Damian Warner who is the current world decathlon silver medalist.

The Canadian men’s 4 x 100m relay team also had a poor time and finished 6th in the competition.

The next 12 months is expected to be relatively quiet for Canada’s top athletes as there is no World Championships or Olympic preparations scheduled. Most of them are looking to just enjoy the off-season while injured athletes like de Grasse are working on their rehabilitation so that they can prepare for the upcoming season. A number of Canada’s top athletes are also looking on raising awareness for a fatal and rare lung condition known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

FightIPF Canada

Andre de Grasse, Brendon Rodney, Aaron Brown and Akeem Haynes will work to raise awareness about IPF in Canada. These athletes will participate in 6 minute walks across the country over the next month to educate Canadians on IPF.

In a statement, Aaron Brown said

When you can use sport to raise awareness of real-life problems, that's when it becomes more than just about every day sport and competition. You want to be able to make a difference in society and help people in the community, and give back

The IPF campaign includes 6 minutes walks because respirologists use the 6 minute mark as a measurement to see if the patient is doing better or worse. Individuals suffering from IPF can find a 6 minute walk to be as strenuous as running a marathon. Canada’s top athletes said that they were happy to be a part of the IPF campaign as it not only made them feel good but helped them feel part of the community and realize there were a lot of issues out there that was bigger than athletic competitions.