De Grasse gives back while planning for Tokyo
Track star mindful of his new status as role model to youths
When he was 16 years old and nobody knew his name, Andre De Grasse used to take public transit from Markham and volunteer his time at the mission in Regent Park.
It meant something to him — being involved, feeding the hungry, giving back to people who didn’t have what he had.
“He’s always had a big heart that way,” said his mom, Beverley De Grasse, standing not far from the Thanksgiving lunch De Grasse and his charity foundation was providing for families of Regent Park. “Seeing how he’s grown up and what’s he’s grown into makes me awfully proud.”
There were kids and moms and dads and people just off the street at the Daniels Spectrum on Dundas Street on Thanksgiving Monday, some there to eat, some there to greet, some just to shake hands or take a photograph with Canada’s most decorated track star. De Grasse is 24 years old now, still so young for a sprinter, still surprisingly small, all grown up as much as he’s going to grow up. At 5-foot-7 he’s seven inches shorter than Usain Bolt. At
154 pounds, he’s more than 50 pounds lighter than Bolt.
De Grasse just won two medals at the world track and field championships in Qatar and probably should have won a third medal.
He’s the fastest runner in his sport, just not the fastest starter. His first 30 metres in the 100 — the signature event of his sport and of the upcoming Summer Olympics — needs work. He doesn’t burst from the blocks the way Ben Johnson once did. As different a body type as he might be, he’s a little more like Bailey.
Bailey wasn’t the smoothest starter — he just outran everyone.
The 200 is De Grasse’s best event now, the one he can possibly take home gold from in Tokyo. He could be on the podium in the 100, as he was in Qatar, but he can’t win without coming up with a new and quicker start in the shorter race.
“That’s what I’m working on,” said De Grasse, who will return to Jacksonville, Fla., soon to resume training under coach Rana Reider. This is getting to the home stretch time of sorts for Olympic athletes. There are nine months to go.
If you know anything about sprinters you will know they never believe they are completely healthy. But what matters is what you do on your biggest day at the Olympics.
Bailey was phenomenal when it mattered most. So was Ben, before he got singled out in a field of steroid users.
De Grasse has shown that ability in his young career. He won the 100 and 200 at the Pan-am Games in Toronto, when he was essentially introducing himself to Canadians. He was a lot different then. Shy, quiet, nervous, not necessarily comfortable in the spotlight.
You should have seen him Monday with the kids, making them smile, making them laugh, hugging those in need of a hug.
When he lived at home with his mom, he had a piece of art on his bedroom wall. It was the bright red Raptors logo. The original Raptors started playing in 1994. De Grasse was born in 1995. Essentially, basketball in Toronto and the young sprinter grew up together.
Now he owns three Olympic medals, world championship medals, and the Raptors are champions of the NBA.
“That was amazing,” he said. “So inspirational.”
It brought him life in a track season that wasn’t going so well. He didn’t have the best year or the healthiest season. He wasn’t sure he could do much at the world championships.
And then the old De Grasse came back to life, if you can be old at 24.
“A lot of people see me, see my size, doubt me.”
He brought home two medals from Qatar. He became the first Canadian to win world medals in the 100 and the 200. His girlfriend Nia Ali, the mother of their daughter, won the 100 metre hurdles for the U.S.
Nia was feeding the Regent Parks Monday afternoon alongside De Grasse.
“Days like this,” he said with a smile, “mean something, mean something to me.”