Andre De Grasse of Canada (centre) runs the final leg of the men's 4x100-meter relay heat at the Summer Olympics on Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.Petr David Josek/The Associated Press
Andre De Grasse is looking to tough it out for his team in hopes of earning a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The Canadian men’s 4x100-metre relay team of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and De Grasse ran a time of 38.39 seconds to finish third in Heat 2 on Thursday at Stade de France. That was enough to qualify for Friday’s final.
De Grasse had revealed Wednesday night after failing to qualify for the men’s 200 final that he was battling a hamstring injury he reaggravated a few days ago. He had also failed to advance to the 100 final on Sunday, his first time missing an Olympic final.
“I’ve been with these guys for the last, what is it, nine years. The three of us, 2015 we won our first [worlds] medal,” De Grasse said. “Jerome joined us in Tokyo in 2021.
“These guys are like my brothers, we’ve been together all this time and I want to be there for them so I’m going to do my best, I got one more race and just gotta toughen it out and go from there.”
It’s not the first time this has happened with De Grasse and the Canadian relay team. Battling a toe injury and recently coming off a bout with COVID-19, De Grasse missed the 100 final, pulled out of the 200 but competed in the 4x100 at the 2022 world championships.
There, the six-time Olympic medalist helped Canada to a gold medal with a legendary anchor leg.
This time around, De Grasse aims to lay it all out there one more time. Canada took bronze at the Rio Games in 2016 and silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before winning the world title in 2022.
“I love the sport, I want to be out there. It’s one last race, hopefully my adrenalin and everything could just take me through it and we try to come away with a medal,” he said.
“We’ve been talking about this moment, we want to go out there and do our best for our country, for our family and friends. Just gotta go out there, one last race, make it happen, just leave it all out there on the line.”
As for what could be fixed, Brown pointed to the team’s passes. Rodney had Canada in first before his exchange with De Grasse slowed them down a bit.
“Zone passes for sure, especially that last one was just awful, amateur stuff,” Brown said. “Hey, it is what it is. That’s why we watch film and make adjustments.
“That’s why I always say, don’t be fooled by the prelims. We didn’t show our best today but we’ll be ready for tomorrow night.”
The Canadian women’s 4x100 relay team also qualified for Friday’s final. Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Éloïse Leclair and Audrey Leduc ran a national record of 42.50 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 2 and grab one of two non-automatic qualifier spots.
“Anything can happen in the final so obviously it’s always a goal to get on the podium,” Leduc said. “But I think if we can run even faster or execute the race even better, that’s something we’ll be happy with. Maybe even another national record tomorrow.”
“I think we’re putting the women’s program back on the map,” Madogo added. “I think they’ve [men] had enough spotlight, I think it’s our turn. We’re coming in hot.”