SEMIFINAL LAUGHER
De Grasse, Bolt easily move on to 200-metre men’s final
He cruised up beside the bigger man and flashed a smile, then eased up as he crossed the finish line and Usain Bolt smiled back.
It might be the arrogance of youth but Andre De Grasse, who was 13 when Bolt first announced himself to the world, thinks he can hang with the greatest sprinter of all time.
On Wednesday night, at least, he looked the part. On Thursday night, we’ll see if he’s ready for this moment.
De Grasse, the precocious 21-yearold from Markham, Ont., turned in an electric performance at the Olympic Stadium in his 200-metre semifinal with the great Jamaican, sending a message while providing one of the Rio Games’ most memorable moments. Running in Lane 5 right next to Bolt, the Canadian reeled in the two-time defending champion in the 200 over the final 20 metres, then geared down as he looked over at Bolt smiling.
Bolt smiled back. When they crossed the finish line they embraced; the champ and the contender, the greatest of all time and the man who would be king.
“I felt like I have a great shot to get on the podium again” De Grasse said. “My coach told me to try and make him use as much energy as possible because I think I can do a better job of recovering.
“I’m younger. So we’ll see what happens. You can’t count him out.”
The two men have also seemed to form something of a relationship and they make a pair — the soon-tobe-30 Jamaican who goes 6-foot-5; the 21-year-old Canadian who goes 5-foot-10 on a good day.
Bolt was timed in 19.78. De Grasse was timed in a personal best of 19.80, which also set a new Canadian record.
“That was really unnecessary,” Bolt said, still laughing after the race. “I don’t know what he was trying to do, but he’s a young kid. He’s great.”
“Yeah, I was just having some fun,” De Grasse said. “I was kind of tentative. I was thinking, ‘Should I pass him or save it for tomorrow?’ But I definitely wanted to make him work a little bit and push. I didn’t expect to run that fast but it happened.”
De Grasse was asked about the exchange after the race.
“We were kind of joking around saying, ‘Why are we running this fast? We shouldn’t be running like this in the semifinal.’”
Especially when there might be a world record tomorrow.
“I don’t know how he feels,” De Grasse said. “You have to ask him if he feels he can break the world record. But if he breaks that record, I’ll definitely try to go with him.”
Elsewhere at Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, Damian Warner, the 26-year-old from London, Ont., stood in third place after the first five events in the decathlon, behind world champion and heavy favourite Ashton Eaton of the U.S. and Germany’s Kai Kazmirek.
Warner, who finished fifth in London four years ago, started his day off in promising fashion, recording the fastest time in the 100 metres, before falling off in the shot put and the 400 metres.
The final five events — 110-metre hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 metres — go Thursday.
“The shot put and the 400 were a little off, but everything else was solid,” Warner said. “It’s up to me to come out tomorrow and see what I’ve got in Day 2.”
Warner was asked if he’s targeting Eaton.
“I keep an eye on all the guys,” he said. “Obviously, Ashton is the top guy and you want to chase him. but there are a lot of other guys who are very strong. It’s my job tomorrow to come out and battle those guys.”
In the last event of the night, Toronto’s Phylicia George finished eighth in the women’s 100-metre hurdles final behind three Americans.