Jerome Blake's rise to becoming Canada's fastest man this season has been a matter of "slow cooking."

The sprinter from Kelowna, B.C., has enjoyed a career year, in which he's added another layer to with his first national title on Sunday in Ottawa. Blake, who turns 30 on Aug. 18, set a new meet record of 19.95 seconds, the first time he's gone sub-20 across 200 metres.

He also went sub-10 in the 100 for the first time in his career on June 21, running 9.97 in Germany. Blake, who was disqualified for a false start in the 100 semis at the Canadian track and field championships, also owns a win over 2023 world bronze medallist in the 100, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, on July 15 in Italy.

"What a lot of people don't seem to understand is, yeah, I'm turning 30 [on Aug. 18] but in theory, I've

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