Andre De Grasse crouched in the starting blocks with Aaron Brown one lane to his right, and knew he’d need his season’s best race to beat his new rival.
The 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., dipped below the 10-second mark for the first time this season en route to winning the 100 metres at the Canadian Olympic trials on Saturday.
De Grasse, an orange blur in his Puma singlet, pulled away from Brown over his first blistering few strides, then crossed in 9.99, thrusting one triumphant finger in the air.
“It’s always pressure coming back the defending champion,” De Grasse said afterward. “Aaron gave me a little bit of pressure, to see him run sub-10 seconds right before Canadian trials, so I thought ‘I’m going to have to run sub 10 to beat this guy.’
“I’m just happy I came out here and performed well.”
Brown crossed in 10.07, while Akeem Haynes of Calgary was third in 10.21.
The men’s 100 was the highlight of an action-packed Saturday night that saw reigning world champions Shawn Barber, in the pole vault, and Derek Drouin, in the high jump, win gold, and Gabriela Stafford win a fierce women’s 1,500-metre final.
Brown recently ran 9.96 to become just the second Canadian man in 17 years to dip below the elusive 10-second mark. De Grasse was the first, in a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win world bronze, then turn pro, signing a lucrative US$11.25 million deal with Puma.
The two have drawn comparisons to Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin, who co-hold the Canadian record of 9.84.
“This is a perfect opportunity for me and Aaron, Canada hasn’t had two sub-10 sprinters for a long time, so I think me and him are going to do big things,” De Grasse said.
Brown was similarly honoured.
“Those are two pillars of Canadian track and field so to be compared to them is a blessing,” Brown said. “I’m really honoured to be in the same breath as those types of sub-10 runners.”
De Grasse and Brown will go head to head again Sunday in the 200 metres, an event that saw De Grasse break Brown’s Canadian record last season.
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De Grasse has his sights on the national 100-metre record now. Conditions were a bit too chilly for a record run Saturday.
“I talked to Donovan today, he was asking me about (the record),” said De Grasse. “I said ‘I don’t know about it today, but I’m going to go for it (later in the season).'”
De Grasse has ridden a meteoric rise up the global sprint rankings, and not only officially clinched a spot on his first ever Olympic team Saturday, but should challenge for a medal against sprinting’s big guns in Rio.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be in this position right now, making my first Olympic team, it’s a dream come true for me, I just want to keep that momentum going towards Rio, and make myself proud, and this country.
“I’ll be ready to run the race of a lifetime.”
Crystal Emmanuel of Toronto won the women’s 100 in 11.26, but politely said she had to cool down and couldn’t speak to reporters.
Phylicia George and Kim Hyacinthe were second and third, respectively.
Drouin, from Coruna, Ont., easily won gold in the high jump, clearing 2.30 metres, while Barber, from Black Creek, B.C., won the pole vault with 5.61.
Victories were never really in doubt for the duo, who were using the trials both to secure their spots on the squad, and as a tuneup for Brazil.
“I just wanted to come out and jump and show that I was fit and ready for Rio,” Barber said. “I’ve been waiting quite a while for this. I had a chance in 2012, I just wasn’t jumping quite high enough. And now to be able to come out and make the team, it means the world to me.”
Earlier in the night, Stafford pulled away down the final 100 metres to win a thrilling women’s 1,500.
The 20-year-old from Toronto held off Nicole Sifuentes and Hilary Stellingwerff to win gold in four minutes 18.51 seconds. The trio booked their spots on Canada’s Olympic team.
“I was in London 2012, as a fan, never thinking I could ever dream beyond national championships and since then, I’ve made national teams and thought ‘Maybe Olympics will be in the cards,’ thinking Tokyo (2020) would be it,” Stafford said. “Last year, I was half a second off the Olympic standard and I was like ‘wow, Rio can happen.’
“And now I’m Canadian champion.”
Stafford said she’s idolized middle-distance veterans Sifuentes and Stellingwerff.
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“It’s just an honour to be battling with them, and really strange at the same time,” she said. “I never thought of an equal to them, and here I am running neck and neck with them.”
Stafford’s victory came despite some less-than-ideal pre-race preparation.
“I ate a bit too much, so I did puke right before the race,” she laughed, about her spaghetti and meatballs lunch. “But my stomach felt lighter after, so I thought ‘OK, my stomach feels good now. Now I can race fast.'”
Stafford said the moment was special, coming close to the eighth anniversary — July 7 — of her mom’s death. Her mom Maria Luisa died of leukemia when Stafford was just 13.
“My mom was just an amazing person, she was a teacher at my high school, I got a message from one of her students not too long ago. She was the type of woman who touched the life of every person that she met,” she said. “She raised us well in the short time we had together.
“I like to think she’s up there watching, and give me a little push when I need it in a race.”
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Among other athletes punching their ticket to Rio, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot won the men’s 1,500, while Carline Muir raced to victory in the women’s 400, and Heather Steacy won the women’s hammer throw.
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