© Copyright – 2016 – Athletics Illustrated
Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse won the bronze medal during his first Olympic games today in the 2016 Rio Olympic 100-metre final, finishing with a new personal best time of 9.91.
He is the first man to win a medal during these Olympics.
The race was won by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who became the first 100-metre sprinter in history to three-peat the distance as the Olympic champion. Bolt, as per his typical race was not the first out of the blocks, but he continued to accelerate and hold pace to finish well in front with a 9.81 performance.
The 30-year-old legend of the track is expected to win gold in the 200-metres and the 4 x100-metre event as well.
De Grasse from Scarborough, also did not have the fastest start and appeared to come from behind to take third and he nearly caught 34-year-old American Justin Gatlin as well, who won the silver medal in the time of 9.89.
De Grasse will also race in the 200-metres as well as the 4 x 100-metres.
Gatlin has been a controversial figure in the sport of track and field as he has twice tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. The first in, he tested positive for amphetamines, but appealed the suspension claiming that he has had to use amphetamines most of his life to curtail his A.D.H.D.
The second time that he tested positive was for a precursor to testosterone.
Gatlin blamed his massage therapist for rubbing testosterone cream on his buttocks. Gatlin’s coach Trevor Graham has had eight of his athletes test positive for PEDs.
Gatlin has run his fastest times after he turned 30, raising alarm bells and concerns that he was continuing to dope.
