De Grasse breezes to quick 200 win

ROME Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse blew past the field to post a dominating win in the 200 metres Thursday at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet.

At 20.01 seconds, De Grasse established a personal season best, keeping him on track to take over the world title from Usain Bolt, who does not plan to compete in the 200 at the world championships in London in August.

De Grasse already took silver behind Bolt at last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, pushing the Jamaican great to his limit in the semifinals.

This time, De Grasse’s chief competition came from Olympic bronze medallist Christophe Lemaitre of France, who was the runner-up in 20.29 — several strides behind.

“This was a relaxed race for me. I wanted to come home and stay relaxed,” De Grasse said. “My coach told me to just hit it and to bring it home well.”

Ameer Webb of the United States finished third in 20.33 and 18-year-old Italian Filippo Tortu crossed fourth just one hundredth off the podium.

Aaron Brown of Toronto was fifth while Brendon Rodney of Brampton, Ont., was sixth.

This was De Grasse’s final 200 before the Canadian trials and worlds.

“My aim is to get three medals, like in Rio, definitely,” De Grasse said. “We have a strong relay team and I also hope to win a final in London.

“Bolt is a big target for me,” De Grasse added. “It’s very exciting to be part of the young generation coming after Usain.”

For Aries Merritt, victory in the 110 hurdles marked his first Diamond League victory since a kidney transplant two years ago.

Meanwhile, reigning Olympic and world champion Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia was handed only her second loss in the triple jump since 2012.

Merritt, the 2012 Olympic champion from the United States, clocked 13.13 to edge Orlando Ortega of Spain by five hundredths in the hurdles sprint.

In other Canadian results, Brittany Crew of Toronto was eighth in the women’s shot put, Alyxandria Treasure of Prince George, B.C., was sixth in the women’s high jump, Brandon McBride of Windsor, Ont., was sixth in the men’s 800 metres, Jonathan Cabral of Peribonka, Que., was seventh in the men’s 110-metre hurdles, Toronto’s Gabriela Stafford was 11th in the women’s 1,500 and Andrea Seccafien of Guelph, Ont., was 16th in the women’s 5,000.