Sad news: Olympic champion Andre De Grasses has declared his retirement from competition after learning of his father’s passing from a heart attack.
ORE, EUGENE. The 200-meter sprinter from Canada, Andre De Grasse, withdrew from the world track and field championships. He won gold in that race in Tokyo last summer.
Less than a month after testing positive for COVID-19, the 27-year-old from Markham, Ontario, told The Canadian Press that his decision to race the 200 in Eugene will be made “game-time.”
Monday night was the scheduled time for the 200-meter heats. His withdrawal was verified by Athletics Canada.
Former sprint champion Surin is eager to coach Canadian competitors in 2024. Olympics in Paris
Andre De Grasse, a Canadian sprint standout who had not competed since June 18, withdraws from the national championship due to COVID De Grasse, who ran 10.21 in the 100 meters at Hayward Field, was unable to qualify for the final.
Even though he wasn’t 100%, he still wanted to give the world championships his best effort.
Six-time Olympian De Grasse declared he will continue to compete in the men’s 4×100-meter relay. In the relay at the Olympics in Tokyo, Canada took home silver.
De Grasse had medalled in every individual race he has competed in at the Olympics and world championships prior to this past Saturday.
The Canadian Press released this study for the first time on July 18, 2022.
When Andre De Grasse, a longtime idol in athletics, moved toward his first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020 in 2021, he could only hear one thing.
“I do not hear anything but footsteps… people just tapping, their spikes tapping on the ground,” De Grasse tells the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in a latest exclusive conversation.
“After the race, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” the 29-year-old Canadian said about his historic 200-meter victory. “You know, just being able to just go out there and finally prove to yourself… that you belong and you’re one of the best to ever do it.”
De Grasse took home three Olympic medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after winning his first world medal in 2015. However, he didn’t earn an Olympic medal until 2021, and it wasn’t until 2022 that he placed first on the podium at a World Championships while anchoring Canada’s victorious 4×100-meter relay team in Eugene, Oregon.
The seasoned sprinter expresses gratitude for all of the difficulties encountered during his illustrious career.
as he approaches Paris 2024 for a third Olympic Games appearance.
“I’ve been really lucky,” he remarked. “I’m extremely grateful to have a lot of fantastic times and I’m grateful to have some not so great moments, but I think it’s kind of formed me into the man I wanted to be.
“I think I’ve learned a lot about being resilient and being strong and courageous and [to] keep going after my dreams and pushing the limits.”
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After a career-best Worlds performance in 2019,De Grasse’s dreams for a spectacular Games were dashed by a hamstring injury that he suffered before to the Covid-19 epidemic. Before a toe problem and his personal struggle with Covid affected his 2022 aspirations, he would have to wait another year for his victory in Tokyo.
Still, De Grasse feels emboldened by it all.
“Life does not seem to be a straight line to me… Adversity is something that everyone must experience, De Grasse added. “There will inevitably be highs and lows. However, there are instances when you need to think back on those difficult experiences in order to figure out how to improve the circumstance.”
De Grasse isn’t slowing down after winning the world championship gold and the Tokyo match: He has maneuvered As 2024 approaches, he plans to take on more obstacles and hopes to smash the 9.84-second national record for the 100 meters held by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin in Canada.
De Grasse attributes his experience to both his physical and emotional health. At the 2022 Worlds, he chose to focus on the 4x100m relay instead of the 200m because he felt underprepared. Canada would go on to win the event for the first time in 25 years.
Speaking of his choices in Eugene, “I pulled out of the 200, my signature event, which obviously was a devastating at the time,” he remarked. But I had to get up and say, ‘Okay, guys, let’s get this done.'” “Let’s make it happen and win this relay.”
What’s next for Who better to demonstrate his global durability season after season than De Grasse?
At the East Coast Relays in Jacksonville, Florida, he had a spectacular start to his 2024 Olympic career by winning the 100 and 200 meters, including the 100 meters, when he defeated Marcell Jacobs, the 2021 Olympic champion. Additionally, he defeated American 100-meter world medallist Trayvon Bromell twice.
As Paris approaches, De Grasse will undoubtedly be considered among the best athletes and probably turn to the strategy that helped him win the 200-meter Olympic gold medal in Tokyo: concentrating on his lane and returning to the fundamentals.
He remembered the 2020 race by saying, “I looked down the track [and was] just locked in and focused on my lane.”Olympics. “My mind is essentially peaceful right now. I’ve stopped thinking. I am already aware of the strategy.
“I’ve completed a million of them. I’m actually just thinking about how I’m going to respond to that gun.”
