TORONTO, (Reuters) – Andre De Grasse introduced himself as Canada’s next great sprinting hope on Wednesday, powering his way to Pan American Games 100 metres gold.
De Grasse’s winning time of 10.05 will not have sent shivers through Usain Bolt or Justin Gatlin but the powerful surge that carried the 20-year-old to victory will surely get their attention.
“It’s been great, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at home in front of relatives and friends,” De Grasse told reporters. “I feel like I’ve got my first senior national medal and at home so that’s a great feeling.
“My main focus is the world championships we are just trying to train through the meet to get back to another peak for the world championships.”
Next month’s world championships in Beijing is where De Grasse’s true potential will be put to the test against Americans Gatlin and Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Bolt, who all chose to skip Toronto to focus on the main event.
De Grasse was largely unknown in his home country until this year and only turned to athletics three years ago after his Toronto high school cut their basketball programme.
This season, the University of Southern California student became the first Canadian since 1999 to run under 10 seconds when he clocked 9.97 at the Pac-12 championships.
He then followed that effort up with a wind assisted run of 9.75 at last month’s U.S. collegiate championships in Oregon.
“Andre De Grasse is something special,” said his college coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. “I have never seen it and I don’t know if I will ever see it again he is that good.
“He’s just natural, he can do things naturally I don’t have to coach.
“A lot of it is he is a great athlete, he’s not just fast.”
De Grasse’s stock has risen faster than his times this season with talk of seven-figure shoe deals in the works and suggestions he could be a legitimate medal contender in Beijing.
“Our goal is the world championships and this is a stepping stone,” said Canada’s athletics coach Peter Eriksson.
“Great things might happen; it is a tougher competition we go to at world championships.”
