Andre De Grasse

Andre De Grasse
Personal information
Nationality Canadian
Born (1994-11-10) November 10, 1994
Scarborough, Ontario
Height 176 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Weight 70 kg (154 lb)[1]
Sport
Sport Running, Track and Field
Event(s) Sprints
College team USC Trojans
Team Puma
Coached by Tony Sharpe
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 60m: 6.60, Lincoln, 2015
100m: 9.92s, Beijing, 2015
200m: 19.88s NR, Toronto, 2015[2]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Canada
World Championships
2015 Beijing 100 m
2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay
Pan American Games
2015 Toronto 100 m
2015 Toronto 200 m

Andre De Grasse (born November 10, 1994) is a Canadian sprinter currently running for the University of Southern California. He graduated from Milliken Mills High School in Markham, Ontario. He is the reigning Pan Am champion in the 100 m and 200 m. He is also the reigning NCAA men's champion in the 100 m and 200 m and current Canadian record holder in the 200 m. De Grasse also won the bronze in the 100 m and the 4×100 m relay at the 2015 world track and field championships in Beijing.

Early life

Andre De Grasse was born in Scarborough, Ontario. His mother Beverley de Grasse was a high school sprinter in Trinidad and Tobago before she moved to Canada aged 26.[3] His father, Alex Waithe, moved from Barbados to Canada as a teenager. Raised in Markham, Ontario, De Grasse started racing in Grade 11 and won his first race running in basketball shorts and using no starting blocks.[4] He was spotted by future coach Tony Sharpe who noticed his potential because of this. He attended Coffeyville Community College in 2013 and 2014 before transferring to USC for his junior season in 2015.

Amateur career

De Grasse's legal 100 m time of 9.97 to win the Pac-12 championship in May 2015 was the first time a Canadian ran under 10 seconds since Donovan Bailey.[5] His exploits at this time led him to being called the future of Canadian track together with Aaron Brown.[5]

At the 2015 100 m NCAA championships De Grasse ran a wind assisted time of 9.75 to win, the wind was +2.7 mps.[6] The 9.75 made him the seventh fastest man in the world and fastest Canadian in any conditions.[7] Also at the 2015 NCAA Championships, De Grasse produced a wind aided 19.58 (+2.4) 200 metres. That was nearly a half a second faster than his own national record set four weeks earlier. After the race with encouragement from his friends to keep going in the pursuit of titles he said "So I ask myself…world champion? Olympic champion? Why not me I’ve come this far, and I’ve only scratched the surface. I want to keep it going. Track is fun to me, and as long as it stays this way, I expect to keep getting better."[8]

De Grasse's next major event was the 2015 Pan American Games held in his home province of Ontario, Canada where he won the gold medal in the 100 m with a time of 10.05.[9] Earlier in the semi's he ran a 9.97 on his way to the final. After the race De Grasse said of the home crowd that "Aw, it was great. I think they gave me an extra boost of energy, the crowd was amazing, I hear them cheering my name and screaming my name."[4] De Grasse also won the gold medal in the 200m at the 2015 Pan American Games with a time of 19.88.[10] De Grasse became the first Canadian in history to run both a sub-10, in the 100 metres, and sub-20 in the 200.[11] He appeared to win a third Pan Am Games gold when he ran the second leg of the 4x100m relay, in which the Canadian team came first in the race with a Games record of 38.06. However the team was later disqualified two hours after the race for a lane infringement by Gavin Smellie.[12]

In August 2015, De Grasse tied for the bronze medal with American Trayvon Bromell in the 100 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. He became the first Canadian to win a medal in track's marquee event since Bruny Surin raced to silver in 1999.[13]

In December 2015, De Grasse turned professional, signing with Puma.[14][15][16][17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Andre De Grasse". olympic.ca. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Athlete profile for Andre De Grasse". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ speedacademy.ca article
  4. 1 2 Ewing, Lori (July 22, 2015). "Andre De Grasse wins gold in men's 100m". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Campbell, Morgan (May 23, 2015). "Sprint prodigy Andre De Grasse sets sights on Pan Ams and beyond". Toronto Star (Star Media Group). Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ Harrison, Doug (June 12, 2015). "Andre De Grasse runs 9.75 in 100m at NCAA track and field championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Andre De Grasse completes sprint double at NCAA Championships". Athletics Canada. June 12, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ De Grasse, Andre. "Andre De Grasse: What did I just do?". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ Frisk, Adam (July 22, 2015). "Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse wins 100m final at Pan Am Games". Global News. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ DiManno, Rosie (July 24, 2015). "Andre De Grasse blazes to 200-metre Pan Am gold in record time". Toronto Star (Star Media Group). Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/andre-de-grasse-wins-200-metre-gold-sets-pan-am-canadian-record/article25672097/
  12. ↑ "Canada's men's relay team gives up gold after disqualification". CBC Sports. July 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ http://www.tsn.ca/de-grasse-ties-for-bronze-in-100m-final-1.349743
  14. ↑ USC's Andre De Grasse turns professional, signs with Puma
  15. ↑ Andre De Grasse signs pro deal with Puma
  16. ↑ Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse signs record deal with Puma
  17. ↑ Double NCAA sprint champ Andre De Grasse of USC turns pro

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