From battling Bolt to golden glory, Andre De Grasse's Olympic career is full of clutch moments

Think about Andre De Grasse's Olympic career, and you might envision him standing on the podium.

Across the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, every time De Grasse raced on the sport's biggest stage, the Canadian sprinter would come through with a medal.

Whatever the circumstances, De Grasse was undeterred.

And so it would be unwise to suggest Friday's 4x100-metre relay at the Paris Olympics might be the six-time medallist's last moment on the Olympic stage.

It all began with an iconic image in Rio.

Then a burgeoning contender, all five-foot-nine and 154 pounds of De Grasse smiled mid-race up at the legendary Usain Bolt, a giant of the sport at six-foot-five and 207 pounds, who grinned back as if to say, "sure, little brother."

Yet there was the Canadian, light and cocky and believing wholeheartedly that he could dethrone the king — and having fun doing it.

The scene unfolded in the 200-metre semifinals, De Grasse attempting to use youth to his advantage by pushing Bolt before the medal race. But the Jamaican edged him by two-hundredths of a second, and he ran the same 19.78 to win gold the next day. De Grasse earned a silver at 20.02 seconds.

De Grasse never did take Bolt's mantle, as it seemed he might for a split-second there in Brazil. Instead, the Markham, Ont., native simply succeeded Bolt as the 200-metre champion in Tokyo, one of six Olympic medals to his name.

The story of Andre De Grasse is one of confidence, consistency and clutchness.

His six medals in six straight events over two Olympics still leave Akeem Haynes, who won bronze with De Grasse in the Rio relay, in awe.

"It's so much pressure. And one of the things that people from the outside looking in don't equate and don't add into the mix is there's a nervousness that comes. You may not feel it in the heat, you may not feel it in the semis, but in the finals and everybody's watching for a split second, they're going to feel it," Haynes said. 

"And Andre has this ability to stay calm in the midst of chaos, to stay calm in the midst of pressure. And that calming feeling is what has helped him throughout his career."

Now 29, things haven't gone quite so smoothly for De Grasse in Paris. He missed both the 100 and 200 finals, saying he was hampered by a hamstring injury.