Sage Watson

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Sage Walker

| image = Sage Watson 3 (19654128753).jpg

| caption = Sage Watson in 2015

| birth_name = Sage Heather Watson

| full_name = Sage Heather Walker

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1994|6|20|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada[http://olympic.ca/team-canada/sage-watson/ Canadian Olympic Committee bio]

| spouse = Brad Walker

| height = 1.80 m

| weight = 57 kg

| sport = Track and field

| event = 400 metres hurdles
400 metres

| education = Florida State University
University of Arizona '17

| collegeteam = Arizona Wildcats

| coach = Fred Harvey

| pb =

400 metres hurdles:54.32

400 meters:51.62

| show-medals = yes

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}

}}

Sage Heather Walker (née Watson born 20 June 1994) is a Canadian athlete specializing in the 400 metres hurdles.{{cite web |url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/canada/sage-watson-258172 |title=Sage Watson |publisher=IAAF |date=25 August 2015 |accessdate=25 August 2015}} Competing internationally for Canada, she is the reigning Pan American champion in the 400 m hurdles, having also won Pan American medals in 2015 and 2019 as part of Canada's relay team.

Career

Watson first represented her country at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where she reached the semifinals. In July 2016 she was officially named to Canada's Olympic team, reaching the semifinals in the 400m hurdles and finishing fourth as part of Canada's women's 4x400 metres relay team.{{cite news |first=Asif |last=Hossain |title=Athletics Canada nominates largest squad to Team Canada for Rio |url=http://olympic.ca/2016/07/11/athletics-canada-nominates-largest-squad-to-team-canada-for-rio/ |publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee |date=11 July 2016 |accessdate=11 July 2016}}

At the 2017 World Championships, Watson finished sixth. At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Watson qualified to the final of the 400m hurdles with a national record time of 54.32, breaking the previous record of Rosey Edeh that had stood since 1996.{{cite news |first=Doug |last=Harrison |title=Sage Watson shatters Canadian hurdles record en route to 400m world final |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/trackandfield/track-and-field-worlds-wednesday-roundup-1.5305810 |publisher=CBC Sports |date=2 October 2019 |accessdate=2 October 2019}}

Watson competed at her second Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. She qualified to the semi-finals of the 400 m hurdles, but placed fifth there and did not advance to the final. The Canadian team in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay finished in fourth place for the second consecutive Olympics, which she remarked afterward "really hurts."{{Cite news |title=Canadian women narrowly miss track relay medal at 2nd straight Olympics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/track/olympics-track-and-field-roundup-aug-7-1.6133400 |date=7 August 2021 |access-date=21 August 2021 |work=CBC Sports |last=Harrison |first=Doug}}

Due to a back injury incurred six weeks before the Tokyo Games, Watson would later announce that she was stepping away from competition to focus on recovery.{{cite news |title=Damian Warner withdraws from this week's track and field nationals with sore knee |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/damian-warner-withdrawal-canadian-championship-knee-injury-1.6494866 |last=Harrison |first=Doug |website=CBC Sports |date=June 20, 2022}}

International competitions

{{AchievementTable\|Event=yes}}
colspan="6"\|Representing {{CAN}}
rowspan=2\|2011 \|rowspan=2\|World Youth Championships \|rowspan=2\|Lille, France \|8th \|400 m hurdles \|61.04
bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|Sprint medley relay \|2:05.72
rowspan=2\|2012 \|rowspan=2\|World Junior Championships \|rowspan=2\|Barcelona, Spain \|10th (sf) \|400 m hurdles \|58.04
6th \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:37.84
rowspan=3\|2013 \|rowspan=3\|Pan American Junior Championships \|rowspan=3\|Medellín, Colombia \|bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|400 m \|52.68
bgcolor=gold\|1st \|400 m hurdles \|56.81
bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:41.53
rowspan=4\|2015 \|rowspan=2\|Pan American Games \|rowspan=2\|Toronto, Canada \|10th (h) \|400 m hurdles \|58.36
bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:27.74
rowspan=2\|World Championships \|rowspan=2\|Beijing, China \|19th (sf) \|400 m hurdles \|56.38
8th \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:27.69
rowspan=2\|2016 \|rowspan=2\|Olympic Games \|rowspan=2\|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil \|11th (sf) \|400 m hurdles \|55.44
4th \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:26.43
2017 \|World Championships \|London, United Kingdom \|6th \|400 m hurdles \|54.92
2018 \|Commonwealth Games \|Gold Coast, Australia \|5th \|400 m hurdles \|55.55
rowspan=5\|2019 \|World Relays \|Yokohama, Japan \|4th \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:28.21
rowspan=2\|Pan American Games \|rowspan=2\|Lima, Peru \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|400 m hurdles \|55.16
bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:27.01
rowspan=2\|World Championships \|rowspan=2\|Doha, Qatar \|8th \|400 m hurdles \|54.82
5th (h) \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:25.86¹
rowspan=2\|2020 \|rowspan=2\|Olympic Games \|rowspan=2\|Tokyo, Japan \|5th (sf) \|400 m hurdles \|55.51
4th \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:21.84
2022 \|World Indoor Championships \|Belgrade, Serbia \|8th (h) \|4 × 400 m relay \|3:31.45

colspan="6"|Representing {{CAN}}

rowspan=2|2011

|rowspan=2|World Youth Championships

|rowspan=2|Lille, France

|8th

|400 m hurdles

|61.04

bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|Sprint medley relay

|2:05.72

rowspan=2|2012

|rowspan=2|World Junior Championships

|rowspan=2|Barcelona, Spain

|10th (sf)

|400 m hurdles

|58.04

6th

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:37.84

rowspan=3|2013

|rowspan=3|Pan American Junior Championships

|rowspan=3|Medellín, Colombia

|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|400 m

|52.68

bgcolor=gold|1st

|400 m hurdles

|56.81

bgcolor=silver|2nd

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:41.53

rowspan=4|2015

|rowspan=2|Pan American Games

|rowspan=2|Toronto, Canada

|10th (h)

|400 m hurdles

|58.36

bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:27.74

rowspan=2|World Championships

|rowspan=2|Beijing, China

|19th (sf)

|400 m hurdles

|56.38

8th

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:27.69

rowspan=2|2016

|rowspan=2|Olympic Games

|rowspan=2|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

|11th (sf)

|400 m hurdles

|55.44

4th

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:26.43

2017

|World Championships

|London, United Kingdom

|6th

|400 m hurdles

|54.92

2018

|Commonwealth Games

|Gold Coast, Australia

|5th

|400 m hurdles

|55.55

rowspan=5|2019

|World Relays

|Yokohama, Japan

|4th

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:28.21

rowspan=2|Pan American Games

|rowspan=2|Lima, Peru

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|400 m hurdles

|55.16

bgcolor=silver|2nd

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:27.01

rowspan=2|World Championships

|rowspan=2|Doha, Qatar

|8th

|400 m hurdles

|54.82

5th (h)

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:25.86¹

rowspan=2|2020

|rowspan=2|Olympic Games

|rowspan=2|Tokyo, Japan

|5th (sf)

|400 m hurdles

|55.51

4th

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:21.84

2022

|World Indoor Championships

|Belgrade, Serbia

|8th (h)

|4 × 400 m relay

|3:31.45

¹Disqualified in the final

Personal bests

Outdoor

200 metres – 23.80 (-0.2 m/s, Tucson 2017)
400 metres – 51.62 (Tucson 2018)
400 metres hurdles – 54.32 (Doha 2019)

Indoor

400 metres – 51.84 (College Station 2018)

References

External links

{{World Athletics|name=Sage Walker}}
{{Athletics Canada|sage-walker|Sage Walker}}
{{TFRRS|id1=4210220|label1=Florida State University (2012–2015)|id2=5612192|label2=University of Arizona (2015–2017)}}
[http://www.eurosport.com/athletics/sage-watson_prs432800/person.shtml Sage Watson] at Eurosport
[http://www.arizonawildcats.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4954 Sage Watson] at Arizona Wildcats
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170116165412/http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209574113 Sage Watson] at Florida State Seminoles (archived)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170116171141/http://www.all-athletics.com/node/339133 Sage Watson] at All-Athletics.com (archived)
{{Team Canada|name=Sage Watson}}
{{Olympics.com|name=Sage Watson}}
{{Olympedia|name=Sage Watson}}
{{2018 Commonwealth Games profile|athletics/athlete-profile-n6030229-sage-watson|Sage Watson}}
{{2019 Pan American Games profile|athletics/athlete-profile-n1146923-watson-sage-heather|Sage Heather Watson}}