In a shocking turn of events, despite running a season’s best time of 9.98 seconds, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Andre De Grasse did not advance out of the semi-finals of the men’s 100m on Sunday at the Paris Olympics.
De Grasse finished fifth in the third of three semi-final heats, in which only the two fastest finishers advanced automatically, plus the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers, for a total of eight men in the final; his overall placement was 12th. All of the top runners this year, including double world champion Noah Lyles, 2023 silver medallist Letsile Tebogo, Tokyo silver medallist and 2022 world champion Fred Kerley and the newcomer, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica (who holds the fastest time this year), advanced automatically, with defending Olympic champion Marcell Lamont Jacobs of Italy and Team USA’s Kenny Bednarek taking the two fastest non-automatic qualifying positions.
Andre De Grasse 🇨🇦 on not reaching the 100m at the Olympics for the first time in his career:
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, it’s a tough not to be in that final contending for another medal. I thought I had a chance if I got into the final…the endurance and stamina were there.” pic.twitter.com/l4e0PvxjMB
— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) August 4, 2024
“It definitely was a tough one,” De Grasse said after the race. “I had a season’s best, but I needed an extra tenth [of a second] to make that final… I can’t dwell on it too much, I still have the 200m tomorrow night. I have to get ready for that, and I’ll probably dissect the 100m after the Games… I’m the defending champion [in the 200m], so I’ve got to go out there and make sure I’m contending for another title, or get on the podium, so I can’t let this affect me, that I didn’t make the 100 metres. I’ve got to go out there, clear my mind, reset, and just go from there.
“Some people told me I had a great start, but I guess it just wasn’t enough… But I think I have another Olympics in me still. I feel pretty good, I’m healthy, so I’ll just go from there.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be honest–yeah, a tough one, not to be able to be in that final, contending for another medal.”
De Grasse had gone into the Games hoping to break the Canadian record of 9.84, set in 1996 by Donovan Bailey and later equalled by Bruny Surin.
De Grasse was the only remaining Canadian in the 100m, with Aaron Brown’s earlier disqualification for a false start in the heats, and Duan Asemota not advancing from the heats.
The men’s 100m final goes at 3:10 ET Sunday. De Grasse will line up for the men’s 200m semi-final goes Monday, Aug. 5 at 1:55 p.m. ET.
Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and PUMA Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.
