De Grasse headlines track event
‘Track & Field in the 6ix’ set to go in T.O. in August
TORONTO — Andre De Grasse was a promising young sprinter at the 2015 Pan American Games and raced to double gold in the 100 and 200 metres. It was his comingout party, and a jam-packed crowd at Toronto’s York University stadium was there to celebrate.
Two world championship and three Olympic medals later, De Grasse is happy to headline track and field’s return to Toronto this summer. Dubbed “Toronto 2018: Track and Field in the 6ix,” the city will host the NACAC championships, Aug. 10-12 at Varsity Stadium.
“When I ran at the Pan Am Games, I didn’t think I would get another opportunity to race at home in my career,” De Grasse said. “And it’s going to be a better atmosphere because of (his Olympic success in) Rio.”
Athletics Canada announced the event on a sun-baked rooftop of a posh downtown hotel, the CN Tower providing the perfect backdrop.
De Grasse has thrust track and field back into the spotlight in Canada and believes Toronto is ready to embrace the sport.
“Toronto has a lot more culture with sports, we’ve got the Raptors, we’ve got the Maple Leafs, the Argos, so definitely bringing the whole track and field atmosphere to it, it’s going to help,” he said.
The event was a quick trip home for the 22-year-old from Markham, Ont., who’d recently returned to Phoenix to train. His dream of dethroning Usain Bolt at the world championships in August was derailed by a hamstring tear, but his goal to become the world’s fastest man hasn’t wavered. Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned from London. “It would have been a great feeling (to be crowned world champion), I feel like I could have done it,” he said. “It was a humbling experience just to say ‘Maybe it’s not my time yet, I’ve got to work harder for it, and just continue to stay hungry and motivated.’ ”
De Grasse was recently cleared by doctors in Germany to return to full training and has done a couple of light workouts. He and coach Stuart McMillan have tried to dissect how his season was thwarted by injury.
“We had a big meeting, talked for about two hours about it, tried to see what went wrong,” De Grasse said.
“There are so many factors, weather, it could have been a lack of sleep, a lot of travelling, maybe doing too much outside of track (promotional appearances, etc.).
“We couldn’t really figure out what it really was, we tried to look back at: did I run too fast too early? Did the runs early in the year shock my body? Because I hadn’t really raced that much since college.”
The sprint star doesn’t believe much needs changing, saying: “Maybe just try to get more sleep or get more therapy. Who knows? We’ll talk about it in the coming weeks.”
Athletics Canada also plans a street event as part of “Track and Field in the 6ix,” featuring a 100metre race, high jump and pole vault.