De Grasse Wins

Running is one thing, but sprinting is a completely different form of running and it’s hard see anyone taking his (Andre De Grasse) spot on Canada’s track and field team for the upcoming Pan Am Games.

At the young age of 20 De Grasse calls Markham, Ontario home and he clearly dominated the rest of the field in the men’s 100 meters at the NCAA track and field championships.

South of the 49th at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon he won the 100m/200m collegiate double

He ran a time of 9.75 seconds with a 2.7 wind aide that saw him prevail in the 200 in 19.58 with a 2.4 wind aide.

This time posted was the fastest (ever) by a collegiate runner and while they won’t count for official rankings or records because he was assisted, but not by a human, this time the run was added by the wind. Go figure?

Both Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin share the Canadian record in the 100 at 9.84, but he (DeGrasse) currently holds the national 200 record of 20.03, which was set May 16.

Athletes have only until Sunday (June 14^th) to submit qualifying marks, with the top two Canadian performance securing berths as long as they meet the performance standards set by Athletics Canada.

The last part of May he (De Grasse) set a meet record of 9.97 in the 100 at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships in Los Angeles.

This was the fastest time by a Canadian runner dating back to the days of Bruny Surin (9.94) in 1999.

This clearly put him as the third-fastest Canadian only to be behind both Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin.

The performance also represented the first sub 10-second time for a Canadian since 2000.

He also managed to shatter the Canadian mark that he shared with Aaron Brown in the 200 at 20.16, pulling away with a 20.03 finish in the 200 heats.

He managed to set a time of 20.05 the following day winning the 200 final and completed his trio of titles by running a section on USC’s victorious 4×100 relay team.

As a sociology major he eventually transferred to USC following the two years he spent at Coffeyvill Community College, located in Kansas.

In April at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California he (De Grasse) became the first person in the history of the meet’s 57-year history to sweep the 100 and 200.

World 100 m all-conditions list:

Bolt                 9.58

Gay                 9.68

O Thompson   9.69

Blake               9.69

Powell             9.72

9. Thompson 9.74 (w)

DeGrasse         9.75 (w)

World 200m all-conditions list:

Bolt                 19.19

Blake              19.26

Johnson        19.32

Dix                  19.53

Gay                 19.58

DeGrasse      19.58 (w)