Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse qualified for the men’s 100-metre semifinal at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, while fellow Canadian Aaron Brown missed his chance to compete for a spot due to a false start.
De Grasse, who won the last two Olympic bronze medals in the event, clocked a time of 10.07 seconds to finish third in the penultimate heat, edging Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi for the final qualifying spot in their group by just one-hundredth of a second.
The 29-year-old from Markham, Ont., was under immediate pressure after the starting gun, as second-place finisher Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon got off to a strong start next to him while American Kenneth Bednarek pulled away for first place in 9.97, winning by one-hundredth of a second.
De Grasse is the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200 metres.
Toronto’s Aaron Brown failed to advance after getting disqualified for a false start in the eighth and final heat, which was ultimately won by American star Fred Kerley in 9.97. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (10.01) and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (10.03) also qualified.
Duan Asemota of Ajax, Ont., placed fifth in the fourth heat in 10.17.
The semifinals kicks off Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET, with the final set for later that day at 3:50 p.m. ET. Watch live coverage on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Olympics app and CBC Gem.
WATCH l De Grasse lone Canadian to reach men’s 100m semifinals:
The two-time Olympic 100-metre bronze medallist qualified for the semifinals by finishing third in his heat with a time of 10.07 seconds.
Lyles finishes 2nd in heat after bad start
Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters Saturday but still advanced and kept alive his hopes for the sprint double.
The American got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was .06 behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter being trained by Carl Lewis.
The second-place finish means Lyles, the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals Sunday. If he advances from that, he’ll race for the gold medal later in the evening.
“It is difficult,” he said. “I downplayed my competitors for sure. I was like `there’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it.’ But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said `alright, I can’t do that anymore.’ I promise that will not happen again.”
Also advancing in the early heats were Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who jogged the last 20 meters and won his heat in 10 seconds flat; Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who won his in 10.08; and Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who won his heat in 9.99.
Seville has a victory over Lyles at a race in Jamaica earlier this year.
Source Agencies
