The 26-year-old Ontarian dominated the competition with an unbeatable time of 9 seconds 91/100.
Andre de Grasse qualifies with flying colors in the 100m race
Photo: Getty Images/Cameron Spencer
That’s what I’ve trained for all year, and all smiles after his race, said de Grasse. This is the Olympic Games […] I had to make sure to put in all the effort since the beginning of the year and to succeed in showing my talent at the right time.
Al-Kindi did not seem at all disturbed by the two false starts that occurred in his wave that led to the disqualification of the Nigerian god Oduduru.
He said I’m used to it, and I’m focused. You just have to go with everyone. If you do, the race is yours.
De Grasse won a bronze medal in the race distance in Brazil in 2016. He also won a silver in the 200m and a bronze in the 4x100m.
All Olympic Games are different. There was a pandemic and I had never been to Tokyo before. Everything is different. Although I try to benefit from my experience, there is always the young man who tells me that it is different [qu’à Rio] And that we have to do things a little differently. I have to stay focused, for the time being, and enjoy the moment.
De Grasse is among the candidates to succeed Usain Bolt, a three-time Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 metres, but is now retired. The Jamaican still holds the world record (9.58sec, in 2009) and Olympic record (9.63sec, in 2012) in the 100m.
A hamstring tear in 2017 slowed the progress of de Grasse, who made a strong comeback on the international scene at the Doha World in 2019, with bronze in the 100m and silver in the 200m.
Since the start of the current season, he has only had two fourth places in the Diamond League for a distance of over 100 metres.
The other two Canadians in the event, Gavin Smiley (10.44s) and Bismarck Boateng (10.47s), both missed their qualification by finishing eighth in their qualifying. They finished 44th and 45th overall.
The semi-finals and final of the 100m will be held on Sunday.
Jamaican platform
Jamaican sprinters outrageously dominated the women’s 100m.
Eileen Thompson-Herrah retained her title setting an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds in the final. Her compatriot Shelley Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.74 sec) and Sherica Jackson (10.76 sec) won the silver and bronze medals.
Jamaicans Shelley Ann Fraser-Pryce (left), Elaine Thompson-Herrah (centre) and Sherika Jackson (right)
Photo: Getty Images / Matthias Hangst
I wasn’t expecting to run so fast tonight. I was like ‘Come on you already did it, you can do it again’. Behind these 10, 61, there is a lot of work
Hero said at a press conference.
The Jamaican hat-trick shows the enemy is still strong in Jamaica
, she added.
No Canadian is eligible for the final race.
In the semi-finals, Ontarians Khamica Bingham (11.22 s) and Crystal Emmanuel (11.21 s) finished fifth and sixth in each. Only the top two in each group, followed by the fastest two of all runners, qualified for the final.
Emmanuel finished the race 16th, while Bingham finished 18th.
Meanwhile, the Poles (3:09.87) won the gold in the 4x400m mixed relay, which debuted at the Olympics. The Dominicans and the Americans, who won their appeal after being disqualified from poor competitions in the playoffs, completed the podium.
The Dominicans took the silver after taking the distance in 3:10.21, a hundredth of a second faster than the Americans.
Natalie Sinclair is a contributor at Vaughantoday.ca, covering a wide range of topics including local news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, accurate reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and issues that matter to their communities. Her work highlights timely developments, relevant stories, and practical insights in a professional and reader-friendly manner.