RIO DE JANEIRO — When Andre De Grasse lines up Sunday night to race his first 100 metres in Olympic prime time and looks to the next lane he will see the giant that is Usain Bolt.
And the presence of Bolt, the world’s most popular athlete, the greatest sprinter in history, might intimidate other first-time Olympians, but De Grasse says bring it on.
“I’m ready to do something spectacular,” the Canadian phenom announced after winning his heat on Day 1 of the 100 with the second best run of the day in 10.04 — Bolt seemed to happily jog to 10.07.
“I hear he’s not in the best of shape, so I feel like this is a good chance for me to take him down. I feel like I’m capable, if I can get out of the blocks. I think my top end speed is going to be able to hold if I can get out with him.”
This is brave talk for a 21-year-old at his first Olympics. Bolt romped to impressive gold medal runs in the last two Summer Games in London and Beijing, and considering how the crowd at Olympic Stadium reacted Saturday afternoon and how Bolt played to the crowd — he is part sprinter, part showman, part comedian — it was pure show time for the always playful Jamaican, who turns 30 next week.
“I felt okay,” said Bolt after his heat. “It wasn’t the best start. I felt kind of sluggish. I think it’s the fact that it was the morning. I’m not used to running this early in the morning at many championships. Hopefully tomorrow, I come out and feel much better and much smoother.”
“It’s always to win,” he answered when asked what he wanted to accomplish here. “That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I’m going for. My focus is to go out there and do my best and execute well. Tomorrow I’m just going to have to come out and do what I do.”
When asked how his legs were, presumably about his injured hamstring, Bolt answered: “My right leg is good.”
I’m going to try and contend for a gold medal. I feel Like I’m capable of doing it this year
And then he laughed. He likes to laugh at his own material.
De Grasse is talking serious here, nothing to laugh about. He tied for bronze behind Bolt and American Justin Gatlin at last year’s world championship. He wants more now. Not many are giving him a shot to be on the podium: And he’s not just talking podium. He’s talking shocking the world.
It has happened before at the Olympics. Donovan Bailey won gold in 1996 and wasn’t the favourite. Even when Ben Johnson won his tainted race in Seoul, Carl Lewis was expected to win. It is almost expected that Bolt will win the 100 and Gatlin will take silver, but 24 candidates in three heats in the semifinals will quickly turn into eight runners for the final an hour and a half later. There is little room for error in the 100.
“I want to get on the podium,” said De Grasse. “That’s my goal. I’m going to try and contend for a gold medal. I feel Like I’m capable of doing it this year, against these guys.”
He didn’t sound at all nervous at the spectacle of being at the Olympics, in the signature event of the Games, against the greatest of all time.
Gatlin shook his head, as if to say, kids. The 34-year-old won gold in Athens in 2004. De Grasse was nine years old at the time.
“As you become an older athlete, a more seasoned athlete, you understand the importance of running at the Olympics,” said Gatlin. “In 04, I was just a young guy. Just having fun. I just went out there and tried to do what I do. You try and bring that same feeling back as you become an older athlete, you have to appreciate what this is.”
And he is impressed with what’s he’s seen of the diminutive De Grasse.
“You can’t count a guy like that out,” said Gatlin. “He’s going to be strong. He’s a competitive guy. These young guys coming up, it’s a different breed now. They’re going back to the old Maurice Greenes, Ato Boldons, those guys who were running and running with their heart. You see these guys come out, they’re trying to claw for the finish line to get on that podium.”
It may well come down to the start. Bolt isn’t known as a great starter. Neither is De Grasse. In fact, neither was Bailey. What all of them have is phenomenal closing speed. What De Grasse doesn’t have is size. He’s eight inches shorter than Bolt.
“Andre looked great at the end (of his heat),” said Aaron Brown, his teammate who didn’t advance in the 100. “He’s got to fix his start. He did it last year, there’s no reason why he can’t do it again.”
Bolt said the same thing about fixing his start. He won without question the last two Olympics, not just in the 100 but in the 200 and the 4×100 relay. He’s never lost an Olympic race. De Grasse had never ran an Olympic race of any kind until Saturday. “It’s going to be exciting,” said Gatlin.
It always is.
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