Breadcrumb Trail links
- Olympics
Canada’s Andre De Grasse crosses the finish line first in the men’s 4x100m relay final at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon. Photo by Ashley Landis/THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP
Article content
EUGENE, Ore. — Andre de Grasse made quite a comeback on the track after retiring from the world events in the 200 meters — a very golden one at that.
Advertisement 2
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
As a team with Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendan Rodney, the Canadians set a national record and world-leading time of 37.48 seconds en route to gold in the men’s 4x100m relay at the world athletics championships on Saturday.
“(It’s) everything we’ve been talking about — (we) actually have a great chance to be on top of the podium,” DeGrasse said.
Article content
“This year I think with a lot of us being fresher – me, doing like six races and then Brendan coming in for the relay, I think that helped us as well. Just being able to practice the relay more and being able to go out there and have that team chemistry.”
The Americans grabbed the silver (37.55) and Great Britain the bronze (37.83).
The gold was Canada’s third medal at the world championships.
Advertising 3
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
De Grasse, lined up shoulder-to-shoulder with American 100m silver medalist Marvin Bracey in receiving their batons, put his stamp on the finish with his signature closing speed.
The Markham, Ont., native contracted COVID-19 just a month ago and failed to qualify for the 100m final before withdrawing from the 200m event.
It seemed to work wonders for the 27-year-old, along with what felt like a home crowd cheering the team on.
“It’s special. There’s a lot of Canadian flags out there, a lot of fans cheering for us – it definitely feels good. It’s not technically on home soil, but it kind of felt like it.”
De Grasse wasn’t the only one dealing with the effects of COVID-19.
Canada’s track and field coach Glenroy Gilbert had to coach the team via Zoom because he recently contracted the virus.
Advertising 4
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
Despite everything that happened, continuity and team chemistry became the name of the game for the Canadian team.
“We ran together at the Olympics last year – we have the same team. This year, after our head coach went down … It was one of those things where we trust ourselves and get our grades up a little bit and give us a little bit of room to work with,” Blake said.
“That was the most important thing – just getting the stick moving. Once the stick is moving, (it) doesn’t slow down.”
The victory also comes after several misses by the Canadian team.
Canada won silver at the Tokyo Olympics last summer and bronze at Rio in 2016, plus bronze at the 2015 worlds in Beijing. Canada did not reach the final of the last World Cup in 2019 in Doha.
Advertising 5
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
Led by Donovan Bailey, Canada won gold in the 4×100 at the world championships in 1995 and 1997. That team included Gilbert himself.
In more Canadian action, Marco Arop continues his huge rise up the men’s 800m rankings.
The Edmonton native won his first world championship medal with bronze on Saturday. For the 23-year-old, ranked fourth in the world, it was a full-circle moment.
“It will hold a special place in my heart. First world championship medal — everything revolves, Arop said. “Starting at the world champs in Doha and going all the way to the final without making the top three and not making it to the Olympic final.
“It’s just a great moment.”
Arop is only the second Canadian to medal in the world competition. Gary Reid won silver in 2007 in Osaka, Japan.
Advertising 6
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
Finishing eighth at the world indoor championships in March, Arop started to build momentum by winning the Canadian nationals, then posted the third-fastest time in the world this season (1:43.61) three weeks ago at the Pre World Invitational Championships.
The bronze medal effort did not come without a scare as Arop had to hold off fourth seed Emmanuel Wonyoni of Kenya.
“Relieved I wasn’t caught on the line. I mean, I got caught, but I’m happy to come away with the medal.”
Emmanuel Korir of Kenya won the gold with a time of 1 minute 43.71 seconds. Algerian Jamel Sejati won the silver, crossing the line in 1:44.14.
Arop, who ran 1:44.28, got off to a solid start before pulling even with Wonini early in the race.
Advertising 7
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Part of me was just thinking, ‘relax, take it easy.’ You can still come back.
And he did. Arop took the lead around the 200m mark and was able to hold it for much of the way.
“I knew if I didn’t go 23 seconds I would have something left for the finish,” he said.
“Once I took the lead I knew I had to make a move early or Korir and Sejati would come. I knew they could be hard to close. I made sure I made that move early (and) took some people out of the race.
As the final turn came Korir began to make his push as Arop looked to be slowing down in the final 100m.
After losing the lead with about 50 meters to go, Arop was caught by Sejati with the finish line only a few meters away.
Arop is looking forward to next year’s world championships, where he feels he can perform even better.
Advertising 8
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Once I’ve done something, I feel like I can do it again,” he said. “I know next year will be even better and bigger and I think the goal will remain the same.”
Meanwhile, Damian Warner’s world decathlon title quest is over.
The 32-year-old from London, Ont., suffered an apparent hamstring injury about 120 meters into Saturday’s 400, the final event of Day 1.
“I’m not sure yet. I have to go back and see,” Warner said. “I felt my tendon pull a few times. I was in the first lane so I thought it was pretty tight and I was trying to stay in my lane. As soon as I got out, I felt something had happened and I just couldn’t go on.”
The Olympic champion from Canada was the leader in the first four events of the day.
Piers Lepage of Whitby, Ont., was second after Day 1 on Saturday with 4,485 points. Aidan Owens-Delerme of Puerto Rico came out on top after Warner’s injury.
Warner has never won world gold in the decathlon. He has a silver and two bronze medals.
At the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Warner broke his Canadian record and became one of only four decathletes in history to break the 9,000-point barrier.
Share this article on your social network
Advertisement 1
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinions and photos from the Toronto Sun.
By clicking the signup button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will be in your inbox soon.
We encountered a problem registering you. Please, try again
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to be moderated before they appear on the site. Please keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications – you’ll now receive an email if you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update to a comment thread you’re following, or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Add Comment