The pressure is heavy, but the opportunity is massive for Malik Metivier.

The Toronto hurdler will be competing at the Canadian track and field Olympic trials that run from Wednesday through Sunday in Montreal.

Saturday will be the 25-year-old Metivier’s final shot at meeting the Olympic standard of 48.70 seconds in the 400-metre hurdles to go to Paris.

“You know (how) extreme hot and extreme cold, the burns feel the same? It’s like that,” he said. “The level of pressure has just been so high I almost start to just feel numb, you know? It made me turn to God a lot more.