Crystal Emmanuel-Ahye

Biography

Crystal Emmanuel made her Olympic debut at London 2012 where she made it to the semifinals of the 200m. Four years later at Rio 2016, she competed in all three sprints. A 200m semifinalist once again, she also finished sixth with the 4x100m relay for which she ran the second leg. In her third Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020, she reached the semifinals in the 100m and 200m. 

At the 2011 Canadian Championships she became the first woman to win both the 100m and 200m since 2003. In 2012 she won the 200m and was second in the 100m. In 2013, she reversed her results, winning the 100m and finishing second in the 200m. She replicated those results in 2014. She set her 100m personal best at 11.27 seconds in finishing second at the 2015 Canadian Championships, where she was also second in the 200m.

Emmanuel ran the lead-off leg for the 4x100m relay at the 2013 World Athletics Championships where Canada finished sixth in national record time of 42.99 seconds. She led off again at the 2015 IAAF World Relays where Canada finished fourth, setting another national record of 42.85 seconds and qualifying Canada for the 4x100m relay at Rio 2016.

Emmanuel and the 4x100m relay team went on to win bronze at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto before posting another sixth-place finish at the World Athletics Championships where they lowered the national record to 42.60 seconds. In July 2017, Emmanuel broke a 34-year-old Canadian record in the 200m, winning a meet in Ireland in a time of 22.50 seconds. She went on to race the 200m final at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

In early 2018, Emmanuel was a 200m finalist at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. She went on to win national titles in the 100m and 200m and reached the podium in both events at the NACAC Championships in Toronto. She set a personal best in the 100m, running 11.11 to win the bronze medal. She also won bronze with the 4x100m relay.

At the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Emmanuel finished fourth in the 200m and sixth in the 100m but claimed a silver medal with the 4x100m relay. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, she was a semifinalist in both the 100m and 200m. In 2021, she was once again crowned Canadian champion in both sprint events.

A Little More About Crystal

Getting into the Sport: Started in track and field at age 6… Her mother ran track and put her in it, even though she would have preferred to do ballet and gymnastics… Competition was stiff in Barbados so it made her train hard… Outside Interests: Enjoys reading, travelling and shopping… Has lost count of the number of athletic shoes she has bought; travels with them in a small suitcase by themselves to ensure they don’t get scratched or scuffed… Odds and Ends: Always travels with a handkerchief that her grandmother gave her before she died… Collects shot glasses from her travels… Has several tattoos, including the Olympic rings on her upper thigh, one for Barbados, and her motto, No fear, just love… Has embraced the mantra “Finish like Barnaby” in honour of teammate Daundre Barnaby who died in a swimming accident at a training camp in March 2015…