De Grasse, Leduc win 100m races at Canadian track and field trials, book spots in Paris
CBC
Andre De Grasse crossed the finish line with his arms open wide, certain he'd just sprinted to yet another Canadian title in the 100 metres.
So the six-time Olympic medallist was surprised to see Ottawa's Eliezer Adjibi listed first on the board at Claude-Robillard sports complex.
"I was kind of confused. I mean, I thought I won, I didn't see anybody in my peripheral," De Grasse said. "I was like, OK, maybe I got snuck up on the outside or something, because I didn't see anybody."
Luckily for him, it was only a scare. A timing system issue gave Adjibi the edge before officials corrected the results following a review.
The 29-year-old De Grasse of Markham, Ont., captured gold in 10.20 seconds Friday night at the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic track and field trials, finishing ahead of Adjibi (10.23) and Toronto's Aaron Brown (10.25).
De Grasse said he hasn't experienced that type of scenario in a long time.
But Adjibi wasn't laughing.
Initially surprised to see his name atop the leaderboard with the pack so close at the finish line, he started thinking a late lean forward had given him the advantage.
Adjibi's name didn't budge from the top for a few moments, so he sprinted gleefully in celebration down the track in front of a stunned crowd.
"I waited, I waited, I waited, and I see my name is still first, I was like, 'Oh [crap], I won,"' he said. "They made me do the [victory] lap, I came back and damn, boom. I didn't win.
"I can't do anything about it, so it's OK."
De Grasse, who won gold in the 200 and bronze in the 100 at the Tokyo Games in 2021, is rounding into form ahead of his third Olympics.
He entered trials after running a season-best 10.00 seconds at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, last week to meet the Olympic entry standard, and feels like he's gaining momentum with the Paris Games a month away.
"I've come away with so many Olympic medals and sometimes you kind of take that for granted, how much success I've had," said De Grasse, who has a knack for peaking in big moments.
