Jean-Simon Desgagnés (born 26 July 1998) is a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has represented Canada at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and won gold at the 2023 Pan Am Games. He represented Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.[1]
 Desgagnés at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | JSD |
| Born | 26 July 1998 Québec City, Québec, Canada |
| Education | Laval University |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | 3000 metres steeplechase |
| University team | Laval Rouge et Or |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best | 3000 metres steeplechase: 8:15.58 (Budapest 2023) |
Medal record | |
Running career
edit2017
editDesgagnés 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 3000 metres steeplechase 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.
2018
editIn March 2018, Jean-Simon competed at his first USPORTS Track and Field Championships representing the Laval Rouge et Or. 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. On July 1, he placed second at the Canadian Championships in Ottawa.
2019
editFollowing 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.
2020
editAt the 2020 RSEQ Championships, Desgagnés defended his 1500 m and 3000 m conference titles. At the USPORTS Championships in Edmonton, 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.[2]
2021
editOn 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
editIn 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 Canadian Championships in Langley, British Columbia, he place third behind John Gay and Ryan Smeeton. Alongside Gay and Smeeton, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. In his world championship debut, he placed 12th in his heat, missing the final.
Competing at the 2022 NACAC Championships, Desgagnés took a bronze medal in the steeplechase in 8:33.25.
2023
editHe 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.[3]
In July, he improved his steeple PB further with a mark of 8:17.40 in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.[4] That month he also won his first senior national championship, in the 3000m steeplechase in Langley, British Columbia.[5] He competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023, where he qualified for the final. In the final he finished eighth in a personal best time of 8:15.58.[6][7]
In November, Jean-Simon competed at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile. 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
editIn 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, 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.
He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the 3000 metres steeplechase, placing 13th in the final.[8]
Personal life
editDesgagnés was born in Quebec City and raised in the nearby town of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges. He is currently in medical school at Université Laval and pursuing an MA in immunology.[9][10]
Competition record
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | World Cross Country Championships | Kampala, Uganda | 65th | U20 race | 26:42 |
| Pan American U20 Championships | Trujillo, Peru | 1st | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:56.57 | |
| 2019 | Universade | Naples, Italy | 3rd | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:36.20 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, Oregon | 36th (h) | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:40.90 |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 8th | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:15.58 |
| Pan American Games | Santiago, Chile | 1st | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:30.14 | |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 13th | 3000 m s'chase | 8:19.31 |
References
edit- ^ "Jean-Simon Desgagnés". World Athletics. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Beland, Gabriel (13 September 2020). "Runner Jean-Simon Desgagnés three seconds from a Quebec record". Lapresse.
- ^ "Jean-Simon Desgagnés s'approche des Jeux de Paris". ici.radio-Canada.ca. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Harrison, Doug (July 18, 2023). "Jean-Simon Desgagnés runs PB, sets Quebec record and nears world, Olympic standards". cbc.ca. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Lalancette, Mikael (July 28, 2023). "On a roll, Jean-Simon Desgagnés does not want to stop". Le Soleil. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Men's 3000m Steeplechase Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Boutin, Richard. "En finale du 3000m steeple mardi au championnat mondial à Budapest: l'incroyable parcours de Jean-Simon Desgagnés". JournaldeQuebec. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Men's 3000m Steeplechase Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ "Jean-Simon Desgagnés in the final of the 3000m steeplechase". euro.dayfr.com. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Meet your 2019-20 Top 8 Academic All-Canadians: Jean-Simon Desgagnés". usports.ca. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2023.