Tatiana Aholou: Canada’s Rising Sprint Hurdles Star

Full Name: Tatiana Aholou
Born: November 26, 2000 (Age 24)
Birthplace: Laval, Quebec, Canada
Residence: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Events: 100m Hurdles, 60m Hurdles
Club: Club d’Athlétisme Dynamique de Laval (CADL)
Representation: Gateway Sports & Entertainment
World Ranking: #29 in Women’s 100m Hurdles (as of early 2026)

A Multi-Sport Beginning

Tatiana Aholou’s journey to becoming one of Canada’s most exciting sprint hurdlers began in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec. Like many elite athletes, her path to the track was not direct. Before discovering her true calling in athletics, the young Aholou explored other sports, participating in both gymnastics and soccer during her formative years. These varied athletic experiences would later contribute to the explosive power, body control, and competitive fire that define her approach to hurdles.

Her transition to track and field came during her time at Collège Stanislas, a prestigious French-language school in Montreal. There, Aholou’s raw athletic gifts quickly became apparent, and she joined the Club d’Athlétisme Dynamique de Laval (CADL), where she would develop under coach Annie Potvin and begin building the foundation for an international career.

The Junior Phenom: 2015–2018

Aholou burst onto the Canadian athletics scene in 2015 at just 14 years old. At the Canadian Outdoor Championships that year, she captured two age-group gold medals, demonstrating her versatility by winning both the long jump and the 100 metres. It was an early signal of the multi-dimensional talent that would come to define her junior career.

The following years saw Aholou establish herself as one of the premier young track and field athletes in North, Central America, and the Caribbean. Training with CADL, she began setting area junior records, putting her name alongside some of the most promising young athletes in the region. Her specialty in those early years was the long jump, though she also showed tremendous speed in the sprints and natural ability over hurdles.

In 2016 and 2017, Aholou claimed Canadian junior titles in the 60-metre dash, and at the 2017 Canadian Indoor Junior Championships, she added victories in both the 60-metre hurdles and the long jump. Her outdoor season that year culminated with the Canadian Junior Title in the long jump, cementing her status as the country’s most versatile young female track athlete.

The summer of 2017 brought Aholou’s first major international experience when she was selected to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, The Bahamas. Competing against the best young athletes from across the Commonwealth, Aholou delivered a breakthrough performance, earning a silver medal in the long jump with a mark of 5.97 metres. She also competed in the 100 metres at the Games, gaining invaluable experience on the international stage.

Aholou’s junior career reached its peak during the 2017–2018 season. In March 2018, she traveled to New York City for the New Balance Nationals Indoor, one of the most prestigious high school track meets in North America. In a field featuring the best prep athletes from across the United States and Canada, Aholou soared to victory in the long jump with a personal best leap of 6.30 metres (20 feet 8 inches), claiming the national championship title. That same season, she added a third consecutive Canadian junior title in the 60-metre dash, further establishing her dominance at the youth level.

Her performances earned her selection to represent Canada at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, where she competed in both the long jump and as part of the Canadian 4×100-metre relay team. The experience of competing on the world’s biggest junior stage would prove invaluable for her future development.

The NCAA Years: Kentucky and Iowa State

Following her decorated junior career, Aholou headed south to pursue the dream shared by many Canadian track athletes: competing in the highly competitive American collegiate system. In the fall of 2018, she enrolled at the University of Kentucky, joining the Wildcats’ storied track and field program in the Southeastern Conference.

At Kentucky, Aholou continued to develop as a long jumper while also competing in the 60-metre hurdles and sprints. During her freshman outdoor season in 2019, she took part in seven meets for the Wildcats, qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminaries in the long jump and finishing eighth at the SEC Championships with a season-best mark of 6.23 metres (20 feet 5¼ inches), scoring points for her team. She also impressed at the Drake Relays, finishing fourth in both the long jump and 100-metre dash.

Academically, Aholou excelled, studying Political Science and earning recognition on the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, demonstrating the same dedication in the classroom that she showed on the track.

During the summer of 2019, between her freshman and sophomore years, Aholou returned to international competition for Canada at the Pan American U20 Championships in San José, Costa Rica. There, she claimed a bronze medal as part of the Canadian 4×100-metre relay team, which set a national U20 record of 44.42 seconds—a mark that still stands. She also finished sixth in the long jump and third in the U20 division at the Canadian National Championships.

Aholou’s sophomore year at Kentucky was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled the outdoor season. During the indoor campaign, she won the long jump at both the Jingle Bells Open and the Doc Hale Invitational before the season ended prematurely.

Seeking a fresh start and new environment, Aholou transferred to Iowa State University in 2020, joining the Cyclones’ Big 12 Conference program. The transition was not without its challenges, but Aholou persevered, expanding her event repertoire and continuing to develop as a hurdler. During her time at Iowa State, she won the 60-metre dash at the Cyclone Open and the 60-metre hurdles at the K-State Winter Invitational, while also competing at championship events. Off the track, she earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in 2021 and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll multiple times.

The Transition to Hurdles

While Aholou had shown promise in the hurdles throughout her career, it was after leaving collegiate athletics that she made the full commitment to the 100-metre hurdles as her primary event. The decision represented a strategic pivot, leveraging her explosive speed, jumping ability, and technical skills into an event where she could compete at the highest international levels.

The transition bore fruit quickly. At the 2023 Canadian Track and Field Championships in her first major nationals as a dedicated hurdler, Aholou finished third in the 100-metre hurdles, earning her first senior national championship medal. She repeated that bronze-medal performance at the 2024 Canadian Track and Field Championships in Montreal, narrowly missing qualification for the Paris Olympics but establishing herself firmly among Canada’s elite hurdlers.

2025: The Breakthrough Season

The 2025 season has marked the true arrival of Tatiana Aholou on the world stage. Training under renewed focus and professional guidance, she entered the year with ambitious goals and has delivered on them at nearly every turn.

The indoor season began with a bang when Aholou set a new personal best of 8.01 seconds in the 60-metre hurdles at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center in early March. That performance earned her selection to represent Canada at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China—her first senior World Championships.

In Nanjing, Aholou rose to the occasion. She advanced through the heats and into the semifinals of the women’s 60-metre hurdles, finishing among the top 16 hurdlers in the world and marking a significant milestone in her career. It was a taste of the world’s elite competition that only fueled her ambition for the outdoor season ahead.

The outdoor campaign brought even more impressive results. Aholou lowered her 100-metre hurdles personal best to 12.59 seconds in June 2025, a time that placed her among the fastest Canadian women in the event. In August, she traveled to Freeport, The Bahamas, for the NACAC Championships, the premier track and field event for North, Central America, and the Caribbean.

There, Aholou delivered the performance of her career, racing to a silver medal in the women’s 100-metre hurdles with a time of 13.01 seconds—her first senior international medal and a validation of years of work and sacrifice. The NACAC silver qualified her for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

At the World Championships in Tokyo in September 2025, Aholou competed in the 100-metre hurdles against the strongest field in the world, including Olympic champion Masai Russell, world record holder Tobi Amusan, and European star Nadine Visser. Racing in the heats, she recorded a time of 13.21 seconds, gaining more invaluable experience on the global stage and cementing her status as a rising force in Canadian athletics.

Personal Bests

*Wind-aided or conditions unknown

Career Highlights

• 2025 NACAC Championships – Silver Medal, 100m Hurdles (13.01s)
• 2025 World Indoor Championships – Semifinalist, 60m Hurdles
• 2025 World Championships (Tokyo) – Competed in 100m Hurdles
• 2024 Canadian Championships – Bronze Medal, 100m Hurdles
• 2023 Canadian Championships – Bronze Medal, 100m Hurdles
• 2019 Pan American U20 Championships – Bronze Medal, 4x100m Relay (Canadian U20 Record)
• 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships – Competed in Long Jump and 4x100m Relay
• 2018 New Balance Nationals Indoor – Champion, Long Jump
• 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games – Silver Medal, Long Jump
• 2016–2018 Canadian Junior Championships – Multiple Gold Medals (60m, Long Jump, 60m Hurdles)
• 2015 Canadian Championships – Two Age-Group Gold Medals (Long Jump, 100m)

Beyond the Track

Aholou is a proud Quebecoise who has spoken openly about her connection to Montreal and her desire to represent her home province on the world stage. Despite the challenges of being a professional track athlete in a country where the sport receives limited commercial attention, she remains committed to building her career in Canada while competing internationally.

Her faith is an important part of her life, as reflected in the Bible verse she includes in her social media biography: 2 Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Aholou is represented internationally by Gateway Sports & Entertainment, a sports marketing agency based in London and Miami that works with elite athletes across multiple sports.

Looking Ahead

At 25, Tatiana Aholou is entering the prime years of her career with momentum building. Her 2025 breakthrough season—highlighted by the NACAC silver medal, World Indoor semifinal appearance, and World Championships debut—has positioned her as one of the most promising sprint hurdlers in Canadian history.

With her personal best now in the 12.5-second range, Aholou has established herself among the top 30 women in the world in the 100-metre hurdles. The natural progression of her development suggests that even faster times lie ahead, potentially bringing her into contention for medals at future World Championships and Olympic Games.

For Canadian track and field fans, Aholou represents the future—a homegrown talent who has developed through the domestic club system, honed her skills in the American collegiate ranks, and emerged as a legitimate threat on the world stage. Her journey from young multi-eventer to elite international hurdler is still being written, and the most exciting chapters may well be yet to come.

Connect with Tatiana

• Instagram: @tatianaaholou
• World Athletics Profile: Tatiana Aholou