Reigning Olympian champion Andre De Grasse collected the men’s 200-metre final as the Canadian track and field championship came to a close Sunday at McLeod Stadium in Langley, B.C.
He concluded in 20.01 seconds just ahead of fellow Olympian and relay teammate Aaron Brown (20.10) with Brendon Rodney (20.15) rounding out the top three.
De Grasse, a six-time Olympic medalist, was fastest in Sunday’s preliminary round with a time of 20.31, ahead of Jerome Blake, Brown and Rodney.
It is De Grasse’s first 200 triumph at nationals since July 9, 2017 when he stopped the clock in a wind-assisted 19.96 in Ottawa.
His time in Sunday’s final is the 28-year-old’s fastest 200 since he clocked 19.72 on Sept. 9. 2021 for second place in the Diamond League Final in Zurich.
Before Sunday, De Grasse’s season-best time was 20.28 from his second-place finish at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on May 21.
On Saturday, De Grasse, Brown, Blake and Rodney received Olympic relay silver medals Saturday from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, which were delayed from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They were upgraded from bronze to silver after the disqualification of Britain due to a doping violation.
De Grasse winning the 200 comes after he didn’t advance to Friday’s 100-metre final.
The Markham, Ont., athlete twice has won an Olympic bronze medal in the 100.
Brown was seeking his fifth consecutive sprint double at nationals after taking the 100 on Friday in 10.08.
“I’ve had championships go down to the wire and I was used to it and it was the moment I lived for,” Brown stated, standing next to his two-year-old son, Kingsley.
De Grasse finished ninth among the semifinalists in 10.21, failing to meet the 10.00 automatic entry standard for the Aug. 19-27 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary before the qualifying window closed Sunday.
De Grasse ranks 103rd in the world in the 100 and also wouldn’t secure a spot for the competition through the world rankings system as World Athletics targets 48 athletes from the event.
He ranked 14th in the 200 ahead of Sunday’s race in Langley when the qualifying window closes. World Athletics will also take 48 athletes from this event for Budapest.
