Barrie, Ont.’s Dennis Iriowen clocked the fastest Canadian U18 200m time in history on Sunday in Calgary

The weekend’s Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships at Foothills Athletics Park in Calgary was packed with rising Canadian stars–but Barrie, Ont.’s Dennis Iriowen stole the spotlight.

On Sunday, the 16-year-old blazed to a 20.84-second finish in the U18 boys’ 200m, shattering a 43-year-old Canadian record and clocking the fourth-fastest U18 time in the world this year.

Iriowen, nicknamed “The Streak from the Creek” after his high school (Bear Creek Secondary), took nearly a tenth of a second off the previous record of 20.93, set by Courtney Brown in 1982. The time also crushed his personal best of 21.29 from last month.

Ontario’s Noah Horspool took the silver medal in 21.29 and Alberta’s Adam Nyarko ran 21.30 for bronze.

Sunday’s victory was Iriowen’s second gold of the weekend–he also won Friday’s 100m in 10.35 (wind-assisted at 2.9 m/s). His wind-legal best in the distance is 10.62.

Dennis Iriowen and Adam Nyarko at the 2025 Canadian Legion Championships.

No stranger to winning

The tenth-grader has been dominant all season, winning the 200m title at the 2025 OFSAA Track and Field Championships in June and taking silver in the 100m–his only defeat this outdoor season.

Last year, he set OFSAA novice records in both the 100m (10.77) and 200m (21.67), both of which remain standing.