Jamaican sprinting superstar Usain Bolt put his arm around Canadian upstart Andre De Grasse as the pair embraced the crowd at Rio's Olympic Stadium after the men’s 100 meter final on Sunday; a moment many are hailing as a passing of the torch to the next generation of Olympic sprinting.
While Bolt’s exodus from competition is still a matter speculation, De Grasse’s first track coach believes the 21-year-old Markham, Ont.-native will become a leading force in the marquee event as he evolves as an athlete.
“As Andre continues to mature physically and gets a little stronger, he will definitely get faster,” former coach Tony Sharpe told CTV News Channel. “There are lots of big things ahead for Andre in terms of lowering his times.”
Sharpe discovered De Grasse at a Southern Ontario high school track meet. De Grasse was supposed to watch a friend from the sidelines that day, but couldn’t deny his competitive side. He placed second wearing borrowed cleats and basketball shorts.
“I said, ‘Who is that?’ Typically you don’t see walk-ons that compete that well,” said Sharpe, himself a former 100- and 200-metre Canadian champion and Olympic teammate of Ben Johnson.
De Grasse was initially reluctant to embrace sprinting, but Sharpe convinced the high school student of his potential.
“I got introduced to him later on and told him I could help him. He joined the club and the rest is kind of history,” he said.
De Grasse won the bronze medal for Canada in Sunday’s men’s 100 meter final. Bolt overpowered second-place American Justin Gatlin, winning his third straight Olympic gold in the event.
Sharpe says De Grasse went into the race believing he would win. De Grasse’s qualifying time was four one-hundredths of a second quicker than Bolt - the reigning fastest man in the world.
“You’re not running for second, you’re not running for third, you’re running to win the hundred meters,” he said. “I thought Andrew could win.”
Sharpe says De Grasse is a mentally tough athlete known for keeping calm and performing well in competition.
“I don’t remember Andre going to any major competition where he didn’t do well, like had a bad day. It just doesn’t seem to happen,” he said.
Sharpe’s biggest concern was De Grasse getting a good start to the race, since he’s not known for being fast off the blocks. He delivered an impressive 9.91 second personal-best time.
“A lot of athletes might perform well, but it’s more important to perform at the right time … that’s the kind of character he is.”
Remuro Henry, De Grasse’s coach at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, also hailed the young sprinter’s performance in a chat with CTV News Channel.
“It was just amazing,” Henry said of De Grasse’s bronze medal finish on Sunday. “You know, I Just broke down in tears… I was sweating more than he was. I was going to pull my hair out!”
Henry says that when he first met De Grasse, the Canadian runner was far from being the dedicated athlete that he is today.
“He was just a laid back guy,” Henry reminisced. “He didn’t really know how talented he was -- and he really didn’t care too much for it.”
That blasé attitude was gone on Sunday, Henry said. In its place was confidence, bravery and toughness.
“I told everybody he’s going to get better as he goes,” Henry boasted. “Once he’s up and running, other than Bolt, I don’t think anybody can touch him.”
“I’m just proud of him,” Henry beamed. “I can’t say it enough.”
