Canada’s De Grasse wins 200-metre gold

Canadian sprinting sensation Andre De Grasse won his second Pan American Games gold medal in three days but it was the United States that dominated the athletics competition on Friday. “He could have easily, because of the way his body was feeling … he could have easily just said, ‘I’ll get the bronze.'”.

“But he’s a fighter, you can’t coach that”.

The 20-year-old from Markham, Ont., crossed in 10.05 seconds, narrowly beating Ramon Gittens Barbados, who finished in 10.07.

“It’s incredible. It feels so unreal right now”, said De Grasse.

“Andre De Grasse is something special”, said his college coach Caryl Smith Gilbert.

“Our goal is the world championships and this is a stepping stone”, said Canada’s athletics coach Peter Eriksson.

Warner needed to run four minutes 29 seconds in the decathlon’s final event, the 1,500 metres, to break the record, and ran 4:24.73. And a lot of those guys in the 200, they didn’t run the 100.

At first, he wasn’t even sure he had won the race since it was a tight finish with Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer (19.90), who won silver, and Panama’s Edward Alonzo, who claimed the bronze. Smith Gilbert purposely throws distractions at the young sprinter in practice at their Los Angeles training base.

Oliver did not hear the officials call a false start on Cuba’s Yordan O’Farrill and so sprinted full-out to the finish line along with another runner, only to wait 30-minutes before doing it all over again.

De Grasse is listed at five foot 10 and 159 pounds.

The 24-year-old from Surrey, B.C., said the performance is a huge boost of confidence heading into next month’s world championships. American cyclist Kelly Catlin captured the gold medal in the women’s individual time trial but the 19-year-old said after that she was unsure whether she wanted to stay in the sport or focus entirely on her university studies.

“This is great, I’m a happy girl”, McClintock said.

McClintock, from Cambridge, Ont., later added silver medals in the tricks and jump finals and her brother Jason won silver in the men’s slalom.

Kate Campbell, from Fredericton, N.B., won silver in women’s 55-kilogram karate competition after a loss to Brazil’s Valeria Kumizaki.

Canadian sprinting phenom Andre De Grasse won his heat in the men’s 200 metres in 20.17 seconds on Thursday morning to advance to the evening semifinals. De Grasse’s time also bettered his own Canadian record of 20.03 set on May 16.

This time last year, he failed to make it to the final at the Commonwealth Games. “When we put him on something systematic, more weights, just imagine what this kid can do”. “It feels really good to know people know my name and I’m making an impact on the track and field world”. And he’s so slender, compared to Canada’s track greats that came before him – Surin and Donovan Bailey – he looks like he might blow away in a stiff breeze. But De Grasse is more Bolt than Bailey – a threat at both distances like Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at home in front of relatives and friends”, De Grasse, who will also compete in the 200m and 4x100m relay, told reporters.

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.

A year out from the Rio Olympics, Smith Gilbert sees the worlds as a learning experience more than anything.