Canada's Andre De Grasse advances to men's 100m semifinal at athletics worlds
CBC
There were questions swirling about the health of Canadian sprinting superstar Andre De Grasse ahead of the men's 100-metre heats at the world championships on Friday night in Eugene, Ore.
Just two weeks ago he tested positive for COVID-19 a second time.
Then the six-time Olympic medallist took to the track on a hot night inside Hayward Field and did what he's done time and time again.
Despite a slow start out of the blocks, De Grasse charged to the finish, stopping the clock in a time of 10.12, second in his heat, to advance to Saturday night's semifinal.
WATCH | Canada's De Grasse qualifies for 100m semifinal:
"Rust buster. I didn't know what I was going to feel like when I got out here. It's been a while since I ran. I was just trying to see where I was at. First round. I'm happy I qualified," De Grasse told CBC Sports after the race.
"Make some adjustments and get ready for tomorrow."
The 27-year-old from Markham, Ont., was running alongside American Christian Coleman, who won Heat 6 in a time of 10.08.
There were seven sprinters under 10 seconds, with American Fred Kerley posting the fastest time of the night, 9.79.
Aaron Brown, from Toronto, also qualified for tomorrow night's semifinal after finishing third in Heat 5. Brown stopped the clock in a season-best time of 10.06.
"I didn't know what time I had run. But I was trying to save some energy. I got a long championship ahead of me so I didn't want to be burning up the track in the first round."
Brown is a 10-time national champion, including winning the sprint double at nationals in Langley, B.C., at the end of June. At 30 years old Brown is leaning on experience going into worlds.
"My mantra going into this championship is that anyone can be beaten. You got your favourites. Pundits are picking their winners," Brown said.
"I'm a wiley veteran. I've seen many upsets. Just playing cool. Surviving round-by-round and trying to mix it up."
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