Canadian ends 25-year drought in epic 200m final

Perhaps the world's adjacent sprint prima wasn't truthful hard to find aft all.

He's Andre De Grasse, the Canadian who ran his archetypal sprint successful baggy hoops shorts and borrowed spikes, and present has an Olympic golden medal successful the 200 metres.

De Grasse powered past a brace of Americans — Kenny Bednarek and the favorite, Noah Lyles — to decorativeness successful 19.62 seconds and instrumentality 1 of the titles that Usain Bolt had owned for the past 3 Olympics.

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It ends a drawstring of adjacent calls for the 26-year-old and fills retired a medal postulation that was lone missing a gold. De Grasse won bronze 4 nights earlier successful the 100 to spell with the third-place medal helium took successful Rio de Janeiro, arsenic well.

He besides won a metallic successful the 200 there, though his enactment successful Brazil is champion remembered for the clip helium had the audacity to messiness with Bolt.

Andre De Grasse of Team Canada celebrates aft winning the golden medal successful the Men's 200m Final connected time 12 of the Tokyo Olympic Games. (Getty)

It was a semi-final contention and the 2 were acold up of the tract and easy going to marque the medal race. But De Grasse kept pushing. It forced Bolt to footwear things backmost into overdrive.

Bolt won the contention but playfully wagged his digit astatine De Grasse. The infinitesimal went viral, and Bolt insisted helium wasn't pleased. He came backmost to stroke distant De Grasse successful the final, by astir a 4th second, but the champion suggested the other vigor didn't assistance successful his futile quest to re-set his satellite grounds of 19.19.

Bolt is gone and the satellite has been looking for someone, anyone, to instrumentality his spot successful the marquee way events. Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs came from obscurity to triumph the 100, leaving De Grasse down successful what is usually considered his second-best distance.

Andre de Grasse of Team Canada finishes up of Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles of Team United States to triumph the golden medal successful the Men's 200m Final connected time 12 of the Tokyo Olympic Games. (Getty)

And finally, De Grasse has cashed in. It's his archetypal golden astatine a large lawsuit aft amassing 2 silvers and six bronzes astatine Olympics and satellite championships since 2015.

"It's persistence," said Canadian decathlete Damian Warner, who hung retired adjacent the way to ticker his teammate win. "He's had to spell against Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, each these pugnacious competitors. So it's not similar he's conscionable choking oregon losing successful the final. He's losing to immoderate truly large athletes."

This time, helium bushed immoderate — astir notably, Lyles, who has been connected a hard roadworthy to the Tokyo Olympics. He has openly talked astir his ain mental-health issues and however the pandemic disrupted everything.

At 1 point, helium looked similar helium mightiness beryllium heading for an effort astatine a 100-200 double. But his 100 astatine Olympic trials was a mess, and his champion contention of the play was the 200 last successful Eugene, Oregon.

Gold medallist Andre de Grasse of Team Canada shakes hands with bronze medallist Noah Lyles aft the men's 200 metres astatine the Tokyo Olympics. (Getty)

Lyles made a mistake the nighttime earlier successful the semifinals, slowing down excessively acold earlier the line, getting edged retired for the 2 automatic spots, and being forced to hold to spot if his clip would gain him a qualifying spot.

It outgo him successful the final. Forced to commencement successful Lane 3, wherever each the apical contention races down him, Lyles pushed retired excessively quickly. He had the pb heading into the homestretch but had thing much to give.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't spot anybody and was moving for my life," Lyles said. "I thought I was the 1 behind. I felt similar I was the 1 chasing."

Nope. De Grasse was doing the chasing. And catching. And, finally, winning. He's the archetypal sprint golden medalist for Canada since Donovan Bailey won the 100 astatine the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

17-year-old American, Erriyon Knighton, finished 4th successful 19.93 seconds, successful a contention wherever the apical 5 each broke the 20 2nd barrier.

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