Now healthy, De Grasse shares support on managing injuries to young long jumper

Canadian track athletes, Marissa Papaconstantinou, left to right, Audrey Leduc, Andre De Grasse, and Marco Arop, take part in a press conference at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

A decade at the professional level has come with its share of injuries, and stategies on how to manage them, for Andre De Grasse.

The seven-time Olympic medallist recently recovered from a hamstring injury that stopped him from competing at the Canadian track and field championships earlier in the month in Ottawa. With world championships coming up in just a few weeks, De Grasse isn’t feeling the nerves of being prepared to perform in Tokyo.

“I try not to think about it too much,” De Grasse said. “I’ve done so much in my career already, so it’s not like a pressure situation ... it is what it is. Just go out there and just give it your best shot.

“Obviously I wish I had more time to prepare, but I feel like ... I’m in a good spot.”

De Grasse currently plans to next compete in the 100 at the Continental Tour Gold event on Sept. 7 in Beijing as part of his preparation for the world championships, which take place from Sept. 13-21.

He’s also taken the time to share some wisdom on dealing with tough injuries early in one’s career.

Tumi Komolafe is a long jumper with the London Western Track and Field Club who competed at the Canadian championships in the men’s under-20 long jump event on Aug. 1.

Komofale suffered a gruesome injury after falling awkwardly on his second attempt at the meet, tearing his left hamstring along with the posterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee.

He was taken to The Ottawa Civic Hospital where he had emergency surgery due to a ruptured artery in the same leg and spent two and a half weeks there recovering. He was then transferred to Victoria Hospital in his hometown of London, Ont., where he lives with his family.

“It was pretty hard because you didn’t know what was gonna happen, what was next,” Komofale said. “It all happened really soon. I just finished from the track meet. The same night I was finding out that I was gonna have surgery. ... It was pretty scary. But everything worked out.”

Komofale, who has been a ADG Future Championship Scholarship funded athlete for two years, is still set to have surgery to repair the other injuries he suffered that day.

Aside from providing words of encouragement, De Grasse’s foundation has given the family financial support while they remain by Komofale’s side during his recovery.

“He’s definitely going through a rough time,” De Grasse said. “Probably his first major injury. ... What I just try to just tell him is take it one day at a time, ... don’t rush anything.

“Make sure you just have a good support system around you, family, friends, people that encourage you to continue to keep following your dream. And just don’t forget that passion and drive, right? So I mean of course it’s going to be a long road for him. He’s young. But yeah, I just try to just show my support for him.”

Komofale initially doubted his ability to continue his athletics career in the immediate aftermath of the injuries he sustained, especially with him being set to join Western University. However, he’s confident in his ability to return to athletics.

“I’ve been given a lot of opportunities through that (scholarship) program,” he said. “And (De Grasse) basically let me know that that program is for champions, and that hopefully I’ll become a future champion in the future, because I just have a positive outlook.

“I’ll be back soon. Just keep working. I have a lot of support on my side. I’ll be back.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press