Jean-Simon Desgagnés (born 26 July 1998) is a Canadian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who specializes in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

. He has represented Canada at the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

and won gold at the 2023 Pan Am Games. He represented Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Running career

2017

Desgagnés made his international debut for Canada competing in the U20 race at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganada. He placed 65th. In June, he ran a

personal best of 8:49.83 at the Portland Track Festival. The following month he won the Canadian U20 in the steeple and took gold at the Pan American U20 Championships in the same event. He capped off his season with a first place finish at the

2017 Canada Summer Games The 2017 Canada Summer Games, officially known as the XXVI Canada Games, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from July 28 to August 13, 2017. Venues * Axworthy Health and Recplex - Winnipeg (basketball, wrestling) *Bell MTS Place - Winnipeg (Opening ...

2018

In March 2018, Jean-Simon competed at his first USPORTS Track and Field Championships representing the

Laval Rouge et Or The Laval Rouge et Or (; , ''Red and Gold'') are the athletic teams that represent Université Laval, located in Quebec City, Quebec. Home games are all held in the PEPS indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Varsity teams Laval Rouge et Or team ...

. Contesting the 1500 m and 3000 m, he placed 7th in 3:58.03 and 9th in 8:32.03. In June, he improved his 3000 m steeplechase personal best by 10 seconds, running 8:39.03 in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. On July 1, he placed second at the

Canadian Championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to: * Canadian Championship, the national championship tournament for professional soccer * Canadian Figure Skating Championships * Canadian Professiona ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

2019

Following a double gold performance 1500 m and 3000 m at the RSEQ Championships in February, he headed to the 2019 USPORTS Championships in Winnipeg. Desgagnés would finish runner-up in both the 1500 m on March 9 and 3000 m on March 8, losing to Western's Jack Sheffar in both events. He also anchored Laval's 4 x 800 m relay team, placing 13th. Outdoors, he once again improved he steeplechase by another 10 seconds, running 8:29.10 at the Stanford Invitational. In July, he won a bronze medal in the steeplechase at the 2019 Summer Universade and placed fourth at the Canadian Championships in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

2020

At the 2020 RSEQ Championships, Desgagnés defended his 1500 m and 3000 m conference titles. At the USPORTS Championships in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, he once again finished runner-up in the 1500 m, but claimed his first USPORTS individual titles, winning gold in the 3000 m in 8:13.97. In August, Desgagnés set a 5 km road personal best of 13:59 in Quebec City, missing the Quebec provincial record by just 3 seconds.

2021

On May 21, 2021, Jean-Simon opened his season with a 8:29.41 steeple PB to win the Trials of Miles in New York City. The following week, he ran a personal best of 8:24.40 in Portland.

2022

In January 2022, JSD broke 4-minutes in the mile for the first time, running 3:58.60 at Boston University. At the USPORTS Championships in March, he won the 1500 m title, he also contested the 1000 m, placing seventh and the 3000 m, placing second Outdoors, Desgagnés opened his season with a steeplechase personal best of 8:22.95 in New York City. At the

Langley, British Columbia The City of Langley, commonly referred to as Langley City, or just Langley, is a municipality in the Metro Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada. It lies directly east of Surrey, adjacent to the Cloverdale area, and is surroun ...

, he place third behind

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

and Ryan Smeeton. Alongside Gay and Smeeton, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2022 World Championships in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. In his world championship debut, he placed 12th in his heat, missing the final. Competing at the

2022 NACAC Championships The 2022 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships were a regional track and field competition held at Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Bahamas, from August 19–21, 2022. It was the fourth edition of a senior track and ...

, Desgagnés took a bronze medal in the steeplechase in 8:33.25.

2023

He set a new personal best 3000 m steeplechase time of 8:20.68 in May 2023, at the Sound Running Track Festival in

Walnut, California Walnut is a city in the eastern part of Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 28,430. The greater Walnut Valley is located between the steep San Jose Hills to the nort ...

. In July, he improved his steeple PB further with a mark of 8:17.40 in

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Hungary. That month he also won his first senior national championship, in the 3000m steeplechase in

. He competed in the

at the

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in August 2023, where he qualified for the final. In the final he finished eighth in a personal best time of 8:15.58. In November, Jean-Simon competed at the

Pan Am Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. Despite falling on the last water jump, he had enough of a lead to take gold in 8:30.14, beating the second place finisher by over 6 seconds.

2024

In February, Jean-Simon ran a 3000 m personal best of 7:47.39 in Boston. Later that month, he captured both the RSEQ 1500 m and 3000 m titles. Competing in his final USPORTS Championships representing Laval, Desgagnés contested both the 1500 m and 3000 m. With 400 m to go, Desgagnés led, followed by Matthew Beaudet of

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

, however with a final 400 m of under just under 60 seconds, Desgagnés held on to take the win in 7:59.72. In the 1500 m, he placed second, just 0.76 seconds behind Max Davies of

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

. He competed at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the 3000 metres steeplechase, placing 13th in the final.

Personal life

Desgagnés was born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and raised in the nearby town of

Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada. History First explored in 1693 by Louis Soumande (1652-1706) during a hunting expedition, the first settlers came in 1728 when some families were invited to settle there at the in ...

. He is currently in medical school at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and pursuing an MA in immunology.

Competition record

References

External links

* * * *
Jean-Simon Desgagnés
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desgagnes, Jean-Simon 1998 births Living people Canadian male middle-distance runners Canadian male steeplechase runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Canada Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Track and field athletes from Quebec 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Laval Rouge et Or athletes