Ryuichiro Sakai of Japan, Andre De Grasse of Canada and Emmanuel Matadi of Liberia cross the finish line after heat 7 on August 3, 2024, in Paris, France.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
In his first race at the Paris Olympics, Andre De Grasse has advanced into Sunday’s semi-finals in the men’s 100 metres, but fellow Canadian Aaron Brown wasn’t so lucky.
Brown was disqualified for a false start in his heat.
“It’s a little embarrassing,” said Brown. “I’m at a loss for words, I’m still in shock that I actually did that.”
Brown said he had not had a false start in about seven years. The third-time Olympian has two other events in Paris though – the 200 metres and the men’s 4x100-metre relay.
“I don’t have to worry about doing the triple any more. Guess that’s the silver lining,” said Brown. “The body’s going to feel fresh and ready to go, so I’m just gonna run the heck out of that 200 and the 4x100.”
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Saturday provided the first look at the speedy men’s 100-metre field on the purple Olympic track at Stade de France. It was also the initial Paris preview of De Grasse, Canada’s six-time Olympic medalist in his third Games, who raced in a red Olympic singlet and black Oakley sunglasses.
De Grasse finished third in his heat, clocking 10.07 seconds. He was 18th fastest among all those moving on to the semi-finals.
Aaron Brown, of Canada, is disqualified in a men's 100 meters round 1 heat at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.Martin Meissner/The Associated Press
The two-time Olympic bronze medalist in the 100-metres wasn’t pleased with his start.
“I’ve just got to make a couple adjustments for tomorrow. Make sure that my start is there,” said De Grasse, who finished his race behind American Kenny Bednarek and Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon. “Today I was a little bit just lackadaisical in the beginning, and that kind of cost me. I tried to come back but obviously you can’t run down, a 9.9 person like that.”
He’d watched his teammate Brown false-start as well as another sprinter earlier in the heats, Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain. De Grasse wouldn’t let that deter him from responding faster in his start.
“I’ve just got to react to the gun and make sure I’m pushing. I mean, I know Aaron false-started but I gotta react,” said De Grasse. “Even if I got to risk it a bit, I gotta make sure I react.”
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The men’s 100-metre semi-finals and finals are Sunday. De Grasse will also race the 4x100-metre relay with Brown, trying to improve on Canada’s silver-medal finish in that event. He will aim to defend his Olympic gold medal in the 200-metre as well.
Only five sprinters ran under 10 seconds in the first round of the men’s 100 metres: Americans Bednarek and Fred Kerley, Louie Hinchliffe of Team Great Britain, Cameroon’s Eseme and Jamaica’s Oblique Seville. Favourite Noah Lyles of the U.S. ran 10.04, while Kishane Thompson of Jamaica recorded 10 seconds.
Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse races in the men's heat on August 3, 2024, in Paris, France.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
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