Canada’s Andre de Grasse gets hands on 200m gold medal adding to Rio 2016 silver
De Grasse unleashed the fastest run of his career setting a Canadian record with the U.S. duo of Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles winning silver and bronze.
Athletics
Andre de Grasse became the new 200m king, blazing to Olympic glory leading a new generation of speedsters across the line at the Tokyo National Stadium.
De Grasse held a slender lead coming out of the bend but had Bednarek and Lyles for company with the Canadian holding on to cross the line in a time of 19.62 seconds. Bednarek followed in second with a personal best of 19.68, with Lyles bagging bronze in 19.74.
Three nights earlier, Italy’s Marcell Jacobs became the surprise heir to Usain Bolt’s vacant 100m crown, with De Grasse now laying claim to the iconic Jamaican’s title in the 200m.
The Canadian has demonstrated his propensity to perform on the big stage, stepping onto the podium at every major championship he has competed in since 2015.
Five years ago, he locked horns with Bolt in the 200m final in Rio 2016 but like so many before, he bowed the knee to the Jamaican to claim a creditable second place.
The 26-year-old often operates under the radar between major competitions but produces the goods when it matters most.
While De Grasse has three individual medals at the world championships – including the 200m silver medal from Doha in 2019 – the top step has evaded him over the past six years.
Highlighting his temperament for the big moment, De Grasse improved on his previous personal best he set at Rio 2016 again in the semi-final at the Olympic Games. He qualified for the final as the fastest man with a national record of 19.73, chopping 0.07 off the mark from five years ago.
"I've been waiting for this moment, I've been training hard for this moment,” De Grasse said.
"I went back after the 100m (where he took bronze) and I was a little bit disappointed in myself, that I could have done better. I said, 'I gotta go and get this 200, I gotta go and get it'.
"I knew the Americans were going to push me, and they were going to take me to a personal best. It's been five years since I had a personal best, so it was just good to get that finally out the way."