麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Still not at 100 per cent, De Grasse might shut down season and focus on next year

Andre De Grasse, of Canada, wins the final in the men's 4x100-meter relay at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Andre De Grasse, of Canada, wins the final in the men's 4x100-meter relay at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Share
TORONTO -

Despite Andre De Grasse's sizzling anchor leg that secured Canada a thrilling relay victory at the world track and field championships, the sprint star still isn't feeling back at full health.

After a few months of battling an foot injury, then contracting COVID-19 a month before the world championships, De Grasse might shut down his season now and focus on next year.

鈥淭o be honest, it's been a struggle,鈥 De Grasse said. 鈥淚 don't feel like I have like 100 per cent of my energy back. I think right now I just want to rest and recover until I start feeling like myself again, and then I can kind of make that decision.

鈥(The foot injury) has been lingering the whole season, so I want to try to get it back to 100 per cent. . . We'll see, we'll see what happens.鈥

De Grasse, relay teammates Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake, and world decathlon silver medallist Pierce LaPage all withdrew from the Commonwealth Games, which opened Thursday in Birmingham, England. There are five Diamond League meets remaining over the next six weeks.

But a big two seasons beckon. There's another world championships in August of 2023 in Istanbul, and then the 2024 Paris Olympics.

鈥淚 want to get ready for next year, another worlds, and then I want to be healthy for the Olympic Games, because it could potentially be my last. So I want to be able to be great,鈥 De Grasse said.

鈥淭he stereotype is people get two or three Olympics,鈥 added De Grasse, who has competed in two, winning six medals. 鈥淏ut if I get a fourth one, I'll be grateful for that. I was talking to Glenroy (Gilbert, Athletics Canada's head coach) about I get a fourth Olympics, and I'm at my best, I'm at my prime, great. If not, and I'm just there to run the relay, it'd be a great moment as well.

鈥淵ou just take it day by day, year by year, you don't try to think that far ahead.鈥

De Grasse was in Toronto on Wednesday doing a round of media appearances for a sponsor promotion for Cheezmade, meatless chicken made from cheese.

Three days earlier, De Grasse salvaged a disappointing worlds with a thrilling gold - and Canadian record - in the 4x100 relay. It was Canada's first global relay victory in 25 years.

The 27-year-old from Markham, Ont., had never missed the medal podium in an individual event at a worlds or Olympics, but in Eugene, Ore., still feeling the effects of COVID-19, he missed the final of the 100 and scratched from the 200.

Earning gold with three teammates was a different kind of joy, he said.

鈥淎n individual (win) is like all your hard work has finally paid off in this moment. You can control it a little bit more, it's only you,鈥 De Grasse said. 鈥淭he relay, you don't know what's going to happen until it happens.鈥

De Grasse said he, Brown, Blake and Brandon Rodney have become friends. They know each other's parents, they know each other's kids.

鈥淚t felt really good to win gold with these guys. Because I know them on a personal level, we have that team chemistry, we've been together for so long. They're family to me . . . and we hang out together.

鈥淚t felt kind of like my basketball days, playing on a sports team. We got to hug each other, we felt the love. I guess in a sense, it kind of felt a bit different, because you got to actually share the glory with people with people that you know.鈥

The Canadians edged the U.S. for relay gold, but De Grasse said it almost felt like a home victory. He saw numerous Canadian flags at Hayward Field, which is about an eight-hour drive south of Vancouver.

鈥淭here were a lot (of Canadians) cheering us on, it was loud,鈥 he said.

De Grasse ran a Canadian-record 19.62 seconds to win the Olympic 200 metres last summer in Tokyo. American Noah Lyles, who won bronze in Tokyo, captured gold at the world championships in a world-leading 19.31. He beat Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. by more than 0.4 of a second - a fair distance in sprint races.

De Grasse wasn't deflated by Lyles' fast time, but inspired.

鈥淭hat's something that I feel like I'm definitely capable of,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wish I was a part of that race, to see where I would have been at 100 per cent, to see if I could have lowered my 19.6 performance from the Olympics.

鈥淒efinitely motivates me to say 'OK, I've got to get back at 100 per cent, get back on my A-game,' and there's going to be some rivalries, especially with the Americans who are running good as of now.鈥

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2022.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected