Run-down De Grasse advances to final

A night after he won the gold medal in the 100-metre sprint, Andre De Grasse announced himself as a contender, albeit a tired one, in the 200 as well.

After posting the fastest time in the heats Thursday, he qualified sixth in the evening semifinals, which saw the Pan Am Games 200-metre record broken with Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer’s blistering 19.80 run.

“I’m not in my best shape right now but it’s not how I feel, it’s how bad I want it,” De Grasse said, right after his 20.12 qualifying run. The 20-year-old from Markham didn’t cut back on his training for the Pan Ams, as runners normally do to post fast times, because he’s still building for his main competition of the year, the world championships next month.

“Right now I’m supposed to feel like this, I’m not supposed to be at my best but I still want to try and come out here and medal so I’m going to give it my all (Friday) in the finals.”

That De Grasse, with tired legs, can get to the final in a field that includes three men with sub-20 second times says a lot about his natural speed and drive to win.

His University of Southern California coach is confident that the world has just begun to see what De Grasse can do.

“He’s not just fast,” Caryl Smith Gilbert said. “He’s a great athlete.”

De Grasse was looking to be something pretty uncommon at the Pan Ams — achieve a sprinting triple crown —by medalling in the 100, the 200 and as part of Canada’s 4x100 relay team.

But, after the semis, he was less certain about whether he’d still run the relay.

“I’ve got to talk to my coach about it, see how I feel,” he said.

De Grasse is still closing in on the Canadian record in the 100 but he’s already got it in the 200, with his time of 20.03.

“I like the 100, but everybody says my best event is the 200,” De Grasse said, ahead of the Pan Ams. “The 200, I feel like it’s too long of a race, I get too tired.”

Here’s who he will face in Friday’s 200-metre final:

Rasheed Dwyer, Jamaica, 26

Semi time: 19.80, Pan Am Games record, personal best.

Wallace Spearmon, U.S.

Semi time: 20.03, Personal Best: 19.95, Season Best: 20.10

Miguel Francis, Antigua/Barbuda

Semi time: 20.05, PB: 20.31, SB: 20.31

Edward Alonso, Panama

Semi time: 20.09, PB:19.81, SB: 20.03

Robert Skyers, Cuba

Semi time: 20.09, PB: 20.24, SB: 20.40

Yancarlos Martinez, Dom. Rep.

Semi time: 20.22, PB:20.30, SB: 20.30

BeeJay Lee, U.S.

Semi time: 20.23, PB: 20.11, SB: 20.11