It was too close for comfort, but Andre De Grasse did enough to make it though the first round of his Paris 2024 debut.
The Canadian finished third in his heat in the 100 metres in 10.07 seconds on Saturday, earning a spot in Sunday’s semifinals.
Only the top three in each heat are guaranteed semifinal berths.
De Grasse came on toward the end of his heat to finish behind American Kenneth Bednarek (9.97) and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (9.98). The Canadian was just one-hundredth of a second ahead of fourth-place Emmanuel Matadi of Liberia.
“Just got to go back and look at the film a little bit,” De Grasse told CBC Olympics. “My start was a little bit off. But I felt myself coming on, so if I just clean up the first part of the race I’ll be good for tomorrow.
Bednarek tied for the fastest qualifying time.
De Grasse’s best time this year (10.00) is just tied for 33rd in the world, so he is not a strong medal contender in this event like he was at the past two Olympics.
The native of Markham, Ont. won bronze in the 100 in 2016 and 2021 and has six Olympic medals overall.
Meanwhile, fellow Canadian Aaron Brown was disqualified for a false start in his heat.
Brown, a two-time Olympic relay medal winner, told CBC Olympics it was a “rookie mistake.”
“Moments like this, you’re almost in shock.”
The semifinals are Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET / 11:05 a.m. PT with the final at 3:50 p.m. ET / 12:50 p.m PT.
