De Grasse striving to beat legends
The trademark wide smile was written all across Andre De Grasse’s face as he hit the ground running in Ottawa 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, he’ll leave town 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 alltime 100- metre standard in this country. The 100- metre semifinals are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Friday and the final is set for 8:30 p.m.
“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 at Ottawa’s Louis Riel High School. “That would be an awesome feeling.”
De Grasse, who has never raced in Ottawa before, adopted a low-key attitude with the media, but he was an open book on countless topics.
In the big picture, going head- to- 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, also 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 could actually represent De Grasse’s better chance at future success.
He won bronze in the 100 and silver in the 200 at Rio ( his third medal, a bronze, came while running the anchor leg on Canada’s 4x100 relay team).
The semifinals for the 200 will be on Saturday at noon, with the final scheduled for Sunday at noon. 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 has the utmost respect for the pending retirement of 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.”
De Grasse, 22, says he has tried to remain the same person amid the fame which 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. 5-13.
At the risk of getting ahead of himself, longtime Canadian track star Glenroy Gilbert is optimistic that the future will be even brighter for De Grasse. “I would say the sky is the limit right now,” says 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 super nova. 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.”