Sports·THE BUZZER
In the first edition of our Olympic mailbag, CBC Sports’ daily newsletter looks at the star sprinter’s chances of adding to his medal collection this summer.
Can the star sprinter turn things around in time for Paris?Jesse Campigotto · CBC Sports
· Posted: Feb 27, 2024 6:51 PM EST | Last Updated: 8 hours ago
After struggling for much of the past two years, Andre De Grasse won the men’s 200m at the prestigious Diamond League Final in September. (Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports’ daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what’s happening in sports by subscribing here.
Thanks to everyone who responded to last week’s call for your questions about the Summer Olympics. Remember, no question is too big, too small or too weird! Send them to thebuzzer@cbc.ca and I’ll continue to answer the best ones in this newsletter during the lead-up to the Paris Games.
Today’s question comes from Ken in Ontario, who asks: How does Andre De Grasse rank in the world?
Short answer: not great. Canada’s most celebrated track star is sixth in the world rankings for the men’s 200 metres and 77th (!) in the 100m. The latter includes results in the 60m, the most common indoor distance.
The No. 1 guy in both rankings is American Noah Lyles, who’s poised for Olympic stardom this summer after his Boltesque sweep of the 100, 200 and 4×100 gold medals at last summer’s world championships. While De Grasse, who won Olympic gold in the 200 in 2021, remains the top Canadian in his signature event, he’s been surpassed in the 100m rankings by his relay teammates Aaron Brown (No. 27) and Jerome Blake (73), with Brendon Rodney (79) two spots below the two-time Olympic 100m bronze medallist.
De Grasse has won a total of seven individual sprint medals at the Olympics and world championships. He also owns four major relay medals, highlighted by the 4×100 team’s stunning gold at the 2022 world championships. But he’s largely struggled in his solo events since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he won a relay silver along with his 200m gold and 100m bronze, battling assorted injuries along the way.
At the 2022 worlds in Oregon, De Grasse failed to get past the semifinals in the 100m and withdrew from the 200 to save his legs for the relay, ending his streak of seven straight medals in major individual events. At last year’s worlds in Budapest, De Grasse placed sixth in the 200m and didn’t compete in the 100 at all after failing to meet the qualifying time in any of his races leading up to the worlds. His decision to skip the opening round of the relay to rest for the final backfired when his teammates failed to advance.
De Grasse turned 29 in November, so it’s fair to wonder whether his best days are behind him, especially in the 100. But he’s shown many times that it’s unwise to count him out — most recently at the Diamond League Final last September. After breaking 20 seconds in the 200m for the first time in two years at the regular-season finale in Brussels, De Grasse shocked the Final in Oregon by unleashing his signature finishing kick for a decisive victory in 19.76. “I know what I’m capable of if I’m healthy,” De Grasse said, suggesting his injury struggles were finally behind him.
WATCH | De Grasse joins Athletics North to discuss what he learned writing his book:
