Canada's Savannah Sutherland is moving fast and breaking records

For the past year, Savannah Sutherland has been moving accelerated and breaking records.

But for the adjacent week, the 21-year-old hurdles phenom is taking a well-deserved interruption from preparing for Canadian nationals and the satellite championships. She's successful her hometown of Borden, Sask., spending clip with her household – and moving connected a caller role. 

"I'm an aunt arsenic of February," Sutherland told CBC Sports. "My nephew [is] astir 5 months aged now, truthful that's truly peculiar to me. Family is immense to me."

It marks a slower gait than Sutherland had been operating astatine for the past year. That started with her Olympic debut past summertime successful Paris and wrapped up with a spectacular show to extremity her collegiate vocation with the University of Michigan astatine past month's NCAA outdoor championships.

Sutherland captured her 2nd NCAA rubric successful the women's 400-metre hurdles by moving a record-breaking clip of 52.46 seconds astatine Hayward Field successful Eugene, Ore. Not lone did she amended her ain Canadian grounds (53.08), it was besides an NCAA Championship conscionable record, a Big Ten record, and a caller NCAA record.

It was besides the ninth-fastest clip ever recorded successful the event.

The erstwhile NCAA champion of 52.75 was acceptable successful 2018 by two-time Olympic champ – and existent satellite No. 1 – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Sutherland and McLaughlin-Levrone are the lone women's runners successful NCAA past to interruption 53 seconds, and the Canadian is inactive coming to presumption with being successful specified exclusive company.

"Obviously, Sydney's the top to ever bash it, so, it's benignant of surreal to conscionable person my sanction mentioned successful the aforesaid conversations arsenic hers, honestly," Sutherland said.

"I don't deliberation that that volition ever afloat descend in."

Sutherland has already shared the way with McLaughlin-Levrone, erstwhile the Canadian reached the last successful her Olympic debut, finishing seventh. That contention marked different record-book infinitesimal for Sutherland, becoming the youngest-ever Canadian to scope an Olympic way final.

Records aside, making that final opened Sutherland's eyes to her ain increasing potential.

"I deliberation making the Olympic last past play truly boosted my confidence," Sutherland said. "I deliberation that that was the large quality this season, conscionable knowing that the ceiling is higher than I expected it to be."

"When I made the Paris Olympics, it sent the connection to maine that, today, nary substance who's connected the track, I beryllium there, I've earned my spot determination due to the fact that I've competed astatine the highest level. But present that I'm ninth all-time – typically there's 9 lanes connected the way – so present it's similar whoever's connected the track, I person earned my spot there."

Not agelong aft breaking McLaughlin-Levrone's record, Sutherland was named the NCAA's women's outdoor way jock of the year. That made her Michigan's archetypal jock to ever gain a nationalist honour successful way and field.

"Michigan is decidedly much of a region [running] school, historically," she said. "You know, Saskatchewan isn't truly a large way spot either. So, I benignant of person ever been from a spot wherever possibly it was a small spot much difficult, oregon possibly you had to enactment a small harder, thrust a small farther, oregon vie indoors for a longer magnitude of time, than different places.

"So [I] conscionable benignant of leaned into that and it benignant of felt acquainted successful that sense."

WATCH | Sutherland connected NCAA record, going pro up of Tokyo worlds:

Hometown enactment 'pushed maine to the adjacent level'

Sutherland grew up successful the colony of Borden, which is astir 50 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. The colonisation lone numbers astir 300 and Sutherland credits the "tight-knit community" with helping her get to wherever she is today.

"Everybody knows everything that goes connected successful each other's beingness – which tin beryllium some a blessing and a curse astatine times – [but] for maine it was mostly a blessing due to the fact that I ever had the enactment of the full assemblage down me," Sutherland said.

"I deliberation that it was a driving origin due to the fact that it pushed maine to privation to correspond these radical that I cognize are supporting me. I deliberation it conscionable pushed maine to the adjacent level, knowing that I was moving for everybody other and accomplishing each of these things for the full assemblage and not conscionable myself."

While she was alert of way and tract sports from tiny meets successful simple school, Sutherland truly took the archetypal steps successful her vocation by pursuing successful the footsteps of her older brother, Cole.

"He's 5 years older than me, and I truly looked up to him and was chasing aft him successful a batch of aspects," Sutherland said. "So, I would find myself enrolled successful the sports that helium was passionate about. I did volleyball arsenic a effect of that, past helium besides did way and ended up winning provincials 1 twelvemonth arsenic a discus thrower.

"And I said, 'hey, that's beauteous cool. I privation to effort and bash that.'"

It was astatine a precocious schoolhouse way conscionable successful 2016 wherever a manager from a neighbouring municipality noticed Sutherland's earthy endowment and approached her with an offer.

"[He] said, you know, 'hey, you're beauteous fast. You should cheque retired this way campy successful the summer.' And I did, and past it ended up being selections for Team Saskatchewan," she said. "I ended up going and being selected for U16 nationals and doing the [100], the [200], the [300], and past some relays."

The 13-year-old Sutherland made the last successful the 100 astatine that event, but was mostly memorable for her due to the fact that it was erstwhile she bought her archetypal brace of way spikes and learned however to usage the starting blocks.

Sutherland wasn't instantly drawn to the lawsuit she's present known for, but her endowment was undeniable.

"Yeah, hurdles successful wide was thing that I didn't truly privation to do," she said with a laugh. "First, my manager [Lee Wolfater] told maine to conscionable cheque it out. So, I was precise hesitant.

"He said, 'we'll bash it for 2 meets. And if it goes horribly, you ne'er person to spot a hurdle ever again successful your life.'"

Sutherland won some of those races successful Saskatoon and would spot many, galore hurdles again, arsenic she began to specialize successful the 400m hurdles.

It wasn't agelong until some Sutherland siblings made their people successful Saskatchewan way and field, grounds of which is inactive disposable successful their precocious schoolhouse gymnasium.

"Now it's comic due to the fact that our provincial banners are hanging adjacent to each different connected the partition of the gym," she said. "That's beauteous special. I would decidedly accidental [my member was] the driving factor."

Her member and parents inactive unrecorded successful Borden, but Sutherland has a tangible transportation to her household erstwhile she runs, successful the signifier of a metallic St. Christopher necklace. That "lucky necklace" is astir Sutherland's cervix each clip she races, and she said it serves arsenic a reminder of wherefore she competes.

"I look astatine it each clip I'm successful the blocks and conscionable punctual myself who I'm moving for and wherefore I'm doing what I do."

World championships connected the horizon

Sutherland's 2025 play volition proceed with a fewer much meets, including Canadian nationals, earlier culminating with September's satellite championships successful Tokyo, wherever her extremity is clear.

"Honestly, [I'm] trying to support my expectations low. [The] archetypal happening is to marque the last similar I did past year," she said. "It's a ace competitory event, close present and I consciousness similar thing tin happen, particularly erstwhile there's hurdles involved. So I'm conscionable benignant of trying to support my caput connected consecutive and hopefully decorativeness higher than I did past year.

"Just arsenic agelong arsenic I'm making guardant progress, I deliberation that's capable for me."