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A small town prairie girl ran the race of a lifetime to become a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion at the United States College 2023 Outdoor Track and Field championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday, June 10.
Borden’s Savannah Sutherland, a sophomore with the University of Michigan Wolverines, captured the women’s NCAA 400 metre hurdle title with a personal best time of 54.45. Her winning time set a school record, a Canadian U23 record and helped her earn first team All-American honours.

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In a race where the top five finishers all ran personal best times, Sutherland led wire to wire, while improving her best time by almost a full second. That time allowed her to finish two-tenths of a second ahead of one of the race favorites, Masai Russell of Kentucky.
The win capped off a very successful college season where she broke three University of Michigan records in the 200, 400 and the 4×400 relays helping the track and field team win the Big Ten Conference Championship. In March Sutherland set a new Canadian Indoor 400 m record of 51.60 at the NCAA Indoor Championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She twice was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year.
In post-race interviews Sutherland showed where her heart was when she was asked about what her win would mean for Canada.
“It means a lot, not just Canada but also Saskatchewan,” she said. “I am from a super small town inside a small province in Canada. So knowing I am representing at all those levels means a lot. Knowing I have the whole community backing me and their messages giving support means everything to me.”
Sutherland will be looking to continue to add to her legacy at the upcoming Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, British Columbia in July.