'This case is exceptional': Ontario track star battles to stay in Canada amid threat of deportation

With the World Athletic Championships happening in Tokyo this week, and Canadian athletes picking up three gold medals so far, athletics is one of the hottest sports right now.

But while Canadians are celebrating their athletes's achievements, in the background there is a story of unrequited success. 

Twenty-one-year-old hurdler Tamarri Lindo is a health studies student at York University and a member of its successful athletics team. Lindo is a star on the rise who recently won a gold medal in the 4x100-metre relay and a silver medal in 110m hurdles at the Canada Games in August.

He's a pivotal part of youth athletics in this country. The place he considers home. But he and his family are in a desperate fight to stay here.

The Lindo family is originally from Jamaica, but fled to Canada seeking asylum when Tamarri was 15 after his father, George, was the target of three assassination attempts because of his political activity, according to a 2024 news release from Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.

Lindo's grandmother was a member of parliament for the official opposition in the Caribbean country. George Lindo also volunteered and helped campaign with the People's National Party, which is why the family says it's at-risk. 

Lindo told the CBC that his father's connections to politics affects the children's safety, and their mental health.

WATCH | Toronto hurdler Lindo and father face deportation to Jamaica:

Ontario hurdler Tamarri Lindo and father facing deportation to Jamaica

Last year, the family was granted a one-year stay but that one year is almost up and they face deportation. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said they could not comment on a specific and ongoing case due to "privacy