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Andre De Grasse, the 26-year-old, four-time Olympic medallist is looking for his fifth as he sprinted his way to the 200m final with a win in the time of 19.73.
He made it look fairly easy. De Grasse got off to a slower start before unleashing a world-class second half, where he easily passed the field.
New Canadian record. New Personal Best. 19.73.
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 3, 2021
Andre De Grasse makes a statement winning his 200m semifinal and moving onto the final as the favourite with the fastest time 🇨🇦
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“knew I had it in me. My PB was from 2016, and I knew I was better than that, especially coming off of the personal best a couple nights ago,” said De Grasse. “I didn’t expect to go that fast. I wanted to save it for the final, but the American Kenny (Kenneth Bednarek) was pushing me a little bit, so I knew I had to make sure I qualified for the final.
Fellow Canadian Aaron Brown won his heat as well. He clocked a 19.99 performance.
Brown, Joseph Fahnbulleh of Libera, and Noah Lyles of the United States all crossed the line at the same time, and a photo was required to determine the placing.
Brown and Fahnbulleh received the automatic berths in the final, while Lyles was credited with third and had to wait until the heats were over before his time was confirmed so that he could advance.
Lyles shocked the sprinting community when he didn’t qualify for the Olympic Games in the 100m event, during the US Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. He owns a 100m best of 9.86 and is a two-time world championships medallist. His 200m best is 19.50. De Grasse earned two bronze and one silver medal during the 2016 Rio Olympics and a bronze in the 100m sprint in Tokyo. He is seeking a fifth medal next.
Brown earned a bronze medal in Rio as part of the 4 x 100m relay team. He has also medalled at the World Athletics Championships. The 29-year-old will be seeking his first individual medal.
The 200m final will take place Wednesday.
See full schedule and results here>>