Olympic newsletter: De Grasse and friends shock the world, plus who might win Canada's next gold
CBC
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We all loved Saturday nights in Georgia. And now, Friday nights in Paris.
Twenty-eight years after that iconic relay victory in Atlanta, Andre De Grasse and the Canadian men's 4x100m team sprinted to an astonishing gold medal under the lights at the Stade de France.
Later, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, beach volleyballers Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson pushed top-ranked Brazil to the limit before dropping a three-set nailbiter to take silver. That gave Canada its 24th medal in Paris, tying the national record for a non-boycotted Summer Games.
WATCH | CBC Sports' Meg Roberts gets you set for Day 15 of Paris 2024:
Canada has also matched its record with seven golds so far. And the closing ceremony is still two days away.
Before we get to Canada's medal chances on Day 15, we have to talk more about today's biggest moment.
De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney pulled off one of the biggest surprises in Canadian Olympic history, winning the men's 4x100m gold with crisp teamwork as a botched exchange doomed the favoured United States once again.
No one would have predicted this after zero Canadian men reached the individual 100m or 200m finals and the relay team posted the slowest qualifying time among the eight finalists. But, running way out in lane nine, Brown, Blake and Rodney circled the rain-drenched track with determined efficiency to put the baton in their star anchor's hand with a chance to win.
Like he's done so many times before, De Grasse found another gear when it mattered most. He outraced South Africa's Akani Simbine and Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes to the line for Canada's first Olympic track relay gold since Donovan Bailey anchored his team to victory in Atlanta in 1996.
WATCH | Canadian men's quartet races to improbably 4x100m gold:
"We had belief in ourselves," Blake said. "The 4x100 is not about how fast you run individually. It's about how fast you run as a unit."
The U.S. learned that the hard way — again. Favoured to win gold despite missing ailing 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles, the Americans crossed the line seventh and were later disqualified after yet another botched exchange — this time between leadoff man Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek.
Rodney came close to a lane violation on the final handoff to De Grasse, leading to a protest that was quickly dismissed. But, for Canada, the rest was pretty much textbook.
