De Grasse still hoping to be part of Olympic sprint show

Andre De Grasse intends on being a major part of the sprint show at the Tokyo Games.

But only if it's postponed by a year.

Otherwise, Canada's fastest man won't be allowed to take to the starting line, even if he wants to.

Stunned at first, De Grasse told The Associated Press he understands Team Canada's decision to not send a team to the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic unless the games were delayed a year.

"It's going to be a bummer and a disappointment if the Olympics went on without us," said De Grasse, who has seven Olympic and world championship medals to his credit.

"Having the Olympics (in 2021), that's all I can really hope for moving forward." The 25-year-old who lives and trains in Jacksonville, Florida, was cleaning his house when he happened to check his phone and see the news Sunday night.

He didn't sleep much.

This was supposed to be his year his first chance for Olympic gold without Usain Bolt looming a few steps away. Only now a new crop of talent has arrived on the scene in Americans Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles.

It's shaping up to be quite a showdown. Potentially, anyway.

Canada joined a number of countries including Norway, Brazil, Australia and Slovenia that have pressed the International Olympic Committee on a possible postponement.

But Canada made the strongest statement of all by flat-out saying it wouldn't go if the games start when they're scheduled on July 24.

The IOC said it would take up to four weeks to consider alternatives, including postponement, which is becoming more and more likely with every passing day and more reports that the number of illnesses are skyrocketing in certain parts of the world.

De Grasse is, by most measures, Canada's highest-profile summer sports star. The country brought 314 athletes to the Rio Games in 2016. It captured 22 medals, with De Grasse bringing home three.

Although De Grasse wasn't contacted individually by Team Canada in regard to its decision, he did receive a survey.

He didn't fill it out.

"I didn't know how I felt about the situation at the time," De Grasse explained.

"I was letting it go and playing it by ear day-by-day and seeing if this things got better. They're trying to protect us. We're humans first and athletes second. We'll get through this."
"I feel like I'm active because I'm chasing them around. We go swimming in the backyard."
A rematch in Tokyo?