Andre De Grasse wins in 200-metre race

Andre De Grasse finally gets his Olympic gold: Canada's first 200m victory at Games in 93 years

Canada’s Andre De Grasse finally got his first Olympic gold with a blazing win in the men’s 200-metre race.

The Canadian crossed the line in a national record time of 19.62 after a dominant run, holding off American Kenny Bednarek (19.68) and Noah Lyles (19.74).

Fellow Canadian Aaron Brown finished sixth in 20.20.

“I couldn’t have asked for more, this was the race of my life,” De Grasse told CBC after the race. “I’m just so happy, I’m so proud of myself. I finally got it done. I’ve been working hard for this moment, you know, for the past five years, and waited that extra year with the pandemic. I’ve just been training my butt off and I’m just so happy that I finally did it.”

Andre De Grasse of Team Canada celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men’s 200m Final on day twelve of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 04, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

De Grasse, the 26-year-old from Markham, Ont., ran the fastest time in the semi-finals on Tuesday night, a 19.73 that was a new personal best and Canadian record. He was the silver medallist in the 200m at Rio 2016, where he also won two bronze medals, and took bronze in the 100m sprint on Sunday in Tokyo.

Brown, 29, from Toronto, was running in his first solo Olympic final, having narrowly missed out in London 2012 and again in Brazil. He was part of the Canadian bronze-medal winning relay team at those Games.

© Ryan Pierse Andre de Grasse of Team Canada wins the Men’s 200m Final on day twelve of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Canada had not had two men in the 200-metre final at an Olympics since Percy Williams and John Fitzgerald in Amsterdam in 1928. Williams won gold and Fitzgerald finished fifth. Williams’ winning time was 21.8 seconds.

Canada’s Andre De Grasse (2R) wins the men’s 200m final ahead of USA’s Kenneth Bednarek (R) and USA’s Noah Lyles (L) during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 4, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)