SPORTS

Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse withdraws from national championship with COVID

Published Tuesday, June 21, 2022 11:01AM EDT

Andre De Grasse of Canada reacts after winning the bronze medal in the Men's 100m final during the summer Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, August 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

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Sprint star Andre De Grasse will miss the Canadian track and field championships this week after testing positive for COVID-19.

The six-time Olympic medallist was rounding into form, winning the 100 metres at the Oslo Diamond League meet last week in a season's best 10.05 seconds.

"I'm obviously pretty disappointed not to be able to race at home in front of the Canadian fans in Langley. Hopefully I can get back to training pretty quickly and prepare for the rest of the season," De Grasse said in a statement.

De Grasse is among several high profile athletes to withdraw from the Canadian championships in Langley, B.C.

Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner, distance runners Moh Ahmed, Justyn Knight and Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, and Paralympic star Brent Lakatos were among the late scratches for the meet which begins Wednesday.

The world track and field championships are July 15-24 in Eugene, Ore.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2022.