Skip to content

Dunfee headed to World Championships in Qatar

Richmond race walker slated to compete in 20 km and 50 km races
Evan Dunfee
Evan Dunfee is among 52 athletes who have been selected to represent Canada at the 2019 IAAF World Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar — Sept. 27-Oct. 6.

Richmond race walker Evan Dunfee is among 52 athletes who have been selected to represent Canada at the 2019 IAAF World Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar — Sept. 27-Oct. 6. 

Dunfee, 28, will be competing in the 50 km (Sept. 28) and 20 km (Oct. 4) races. He is coming off a fifth place finish in the 20 km event at last month’s Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

The Canadian team is comprised of 25 men and 27 women, with 29 athletes returning from the 2017 World Championships team that finished 14th on the IAAF Placing Table with 30 points), produced two Canadian records (Mohammed Ahmed and Geneviève Lalonde), three personal bests, and 10 season’s best performances. 

The Canadian contingent heading to Doha will compete in 31 out of 49 events, with the 3,000-metre steeplechase featuring the most Canadian entries (three men and three women).

“Having some veterans, along with rookies, is part of the tapestry of our sport; it bodes well. When you look back at 2017, the performance as a whole was lacking for various reasons,” said Head Coach Glenroy Gilbert. “We are looking for a better result this year, but the challenges will be there. In Doha, the challenges will be the heat and the time zone, but I think we’ve done a good job trying to mitigate those situations for our athletes. I’m expecting that our team will be prepared and ready to perform when they arrive in Doha.”

Prior to the Championships getting underway in Doha, Canadian athletes will have the opportunity to take part in two training camps – one in St. Moritz, Switzerland, that will help athletes adjust to the altitude, the other in Barcelona, Spain, where the emphasis will be on adjusting to the heat that is certain to greet the team in Doha.