De Grasse hopes to break Canadian record on home soil
Bailey’s 9.84 time in the 100 metres, set in 1996, is next on the block for sprinter
The trademark wide smile OTTAWA was across Andre De Grasse’s face as he hit the ground running on Wednesday.
If the triple medallist from the Rio Olympics has his way at the Canadian Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa, he’ll leave the capital with national titles in both the 100 metres and 200 metres.
He would also like to stake his claim to being the fastest Canadian ever.
For everything De Grasse has accomplished on the track and in his pursuit of Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, Donovan Bailey’s and Bruny Surin’s 9.84 seconds — set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics by Bailey and matched by Surin in 1999 — remains the all-time 100-metre standard in this country.
The 100-metre final is set for Friday night. The 200-metre final is on Sunday.
“If the conditions are right, if the wind is in my favour, I’m definitely looking forward to try and break that Canadian record in front of Canadian fans,” De Grasse said following a casual workout. “That would be an awesome feeling.”
De Grasse, who has never raced in Ottawa, adopted a low-key attitude with the media, but he was an open book on countless topics.
In the big picture, going headto-head against Bolt one last time at the world championships in London later this summer — Bolt will retire following the season — is the biggest date on his calendar. De Grasse, however, expressed plenty of passion about doing his best in front of a Canadian crowd.
“It’s really important for me to get a chance to see my fans here in Ottawa, get a chance to represent on the home soil,” he said.
“I don’t get an opportunity to compete in Canada a lot, so I’m just happy to be here this weekend and I’m looking forward to putting on a show.”
While the 100 metres is track’s marquee event, the 200 metres might represent De Grasse’s best chance at future success. He won bronze in the 100 and silver in the 200 in Rio de Janeiro (his third medal, a bronze, came while running the anchor leg on Canada’s 4x100 relay team). Does he have a preference? “I don’t really think about that,” he said. “If I can perfect both … I know I have the Canadian record in the 200 (19.80, set in Rio) and the goal is to get the Canadian record in the 100, too.
“The championships are really important. I’ve won the 100 in back-to-back years and I want to keep the tradition going. I don’t have the 200 title at the Canadian championships and I’m looking to get that, too.”
As much as De Grasse would like to outrace Bolt this summer — “it’s my last opportunity. I want to take it when I can,” he said — the 22-year-old has the utmost respect for the pending retirement of the greatest sprinter, and one of the greatest Olympians, in history.
“Usain is a great athlete,” he said. “It’s up to myself and a couple of other guys of a younger generation (in the future). Any one of us can fill the void and keep the sport moving and continue that tradition.”
The product of Markham, Ont., said he has tried to remain the same person amid the fame that came with Olympic success. He was named Canada’s male athlete of the year in 2016 — swimming sensation Penny Oleksiak claimed athlete of the year honours — and the demands on his time have risen accordingly.
“I’ve been a little busier and I definitely miss hanging out with family and friends,” he said. “I have a little more on my hands now and I’m trying to make time for everyone and have a balance.”
After the Canadian championships, De Grasse is off to Morocco for races the following weekend. The world championships run from Aug. 5 to 13.
At the risk of getting ahead of himself, longtime Canadian track star Glenroy Gilbert is optimistic the future will be even brighter for De Grasse.
“I would say the sky is the limit right now,” said Gilbert, who coaches the national relay teams. “You couldn’t meet a nicer kid, a more down-to-earth person, in terms of how he approaches competition and how he deals with people. It’s an interesting time. You’re almost looking at a supernova. Andre is one of those guys that simply doesn’t come along every day. We’re going to see some great things from him in the coming weeks, months and years to come. I think you will get a snippet of that here.”