De Grasse loves life in fast lane
Canadian Olympian makes quick work of comparisons with rival Usain Bolt
It’s five minutes into his scrum and Andre De Grasse has already been asked seven questions about Usain Bolt.
This is more than he’s been asked about his three straight wins in the Diamond League this year, his wind-aided 9.69 run in Stockholm earlier this month, The Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic — which is why he’s in Vancouver in the first place — or any other topic germane to the world’s second-fastest man.
That’s because Bolt, the world’s fastest man, still casts a giant shadow over his sport, a shadow which this day reaches across from the Czech Republic all the way to Vancouver where De Grasse is about to take a starring turn.
“I’m getting used to these questions,” De Grasse answers when asked if he ever tires of the Bolt line of inquiry. “He’s one of the best! I think for me to get people to stop talking about him I’ve got to go out there and beat him.”
One of the best. Go out there and beat him. Hmmm. That almost sounds like shots at The Great Man from Jamaica.
“I think it’s obvious,” De Grasse continued. “He’s getting older and he’s slowing down a bit. But he’s still the man to beat.” Yes, definitely a shot. The idea of a rivalry between De Grasse and Bolt, of course, is similar to a rivalry between a bug and a windshield but, since announcing himself to world athletics three years ago, the precocious Canadian has at least gained the attention of the nine-time Olympic gold medallist.
Granted, that rivalry isn’t especially relevant to the Jerome meet and the 3,000 fans who will watch De Grasse run tonight in Coquitlam. But for the larger track community, it’s added spice to the sprints and relieved the tedium of Bolt’s dominance over the last decade.
“It’s all friendly,” said De Grasse. “He says stuff. I say stuff. At the end of the day we’re cool with each other. We work for the same company (Puma). We’re just out there having fun putting on a show for the crowd.”
And maybe that’s all it is. But, about the time De Grasse sprinted beside Bolt in the 200-metre semifinal in Rio last summer and crowded the Jamaican superstar in the spotlight, the relationship between the two has been mindful of the big brother and the annoying little brother.
A couple weeks ago, for example, Bolt was asked about De Grasse as he was preparing to run in his home meet in Kingston.
“I always tell my younger athletes at Racers track club (in Kingston), listen, when you’re climbing a ladder, you have to take your time and work your way to the top,” Bolt told reporters. “So all I have to say to De Grasse is take your time and climb your way to the top. That’s all I have to say about that.”
Bolt, who’s running in the Czech Republic this week, is also scheduled to run the 100 in the Diamond League event in Monaco in late July. De Grasse, as it happens, is conspicuous by his absence in that field but there’s a reason.
“One thing we’ve learned over the last 20 years is the fastest guy in the world gets to select his fields,” De Grasse’s coach Stuart McMillan said at the Jerome presser. Still think this is all good fun? Now, the unfortunate news here is Bolt-De Grasse rivalry won’t have a chance to grow because Bolt is expected to retire in August after this year’s IAAF World Championships in London. True, he might be retired the way some heavyweight boxing champions retire — that is, until their next big pay day — but, at 30, Bolt has nothing left to prove.
De Grasse, on the other hand, has plenty to prove.
“Obviously it’s a big moment,” said the product of Markham, Ont. “It’s his last world championship. I want to treat this like it’s my last, too. I want to bring my best against him. He’s a legend.”
In the meantime, De Grasse’s presence in Vancouver has raised both the profile and the Q-factor around the Jerome.
He’s not doing it for free — “We don’t want to talk about it but, yes,” meet organizer Doug Clement answered when asked if De Grasse and his people command an appearance fee — and he did make running at the newer Percy Perry track in Coquitlam a condition to his involvement.
But De Grasse can make a lot more running elsewhere and his presence here means something to the Jerome, young athletes in B.C. and Canada’s track and field community.
“His coach (McMillan) and Andre are going way out of their way to come to this meet,” Clement said. “He has a sense of responsibility to be visible in Canada and build the interest in young people. This is a genuine thing.”
Just like his rivalry with that other guy.