Andre de Grasse wins 200m gold
After years of less glamorous medals, Canadian Andre de Grasse won the men's 200-meter gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday with a remarkable time of 19.62 seconds, becoming the eighth fastest man at this distance.
Andre de Grasse, who won bronze in the 100 meters and silver in the 200 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2019 World Championships, outperformed his opponents in the last 40 metres.
"I've faced a lot of things in the last five years on and off the track," he said, referring to his hamstring problem after the Rio Games and other health problems.
"In 2016, I was a boy with no experience, but now there is a lot of ambition to win medals and I wanted to show the world that I have overcome injuries and can go home with gold."
The 26-year-old Canadian sprinter became the first Olympic champion in the 200 meters since Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who won gold in three consecutive Olympics from 2008 and before retiring in 2017.
For most of the race, it seemed Andre de Grasse would finish the distance again without taking gold.
But he reached a maximum speed in the last 40 metres, overtaking his American rivals and setting a Canadian record.
Andre de Grasse continued, “I knew the Americans would put pressure on me and push me to achieve my personal best. It's been five years since my best time so it's good to finally break him like that."
The United States last won the race in 2004 and it looked like Noah Lyles would be the champion after establishing himself as the fastest man in the 200 meters in 2018, winning all races over that distance in 19.7 seconds.
But Lyles also fell behind his compatriot Kenny Bednarek, who clocked 19.68 seconds, to take the bronze with a time of 19.74 seconds.
