Andre De Grasse clocks season’s best to win sprint double in Czech Republic

Canada’s Olympic champion, Andre De Grasse, had a successful day on the track on Tuesday, winning both the men’s 100m and 200m events at the 63rd Ostrava Golden Spike Continental Tour meet in the Czech Republic.

De Grasse recorded season’s best times in the 100m and 200m, despite the cool and rainy conditions. He won the 100m, beating 2021 Olympic gold medallist Marcell Jacobs, in a time of 10.10 seconds, then followed it up with another win in the 200m 90 minutes later, in 20.09 seconds.

Degrasse on top over 100m 👀 @De6rasse beats @crazylongjumper at @ZlataTretra with 10.10.#ContinentalTourGold
Watch 📺: https://t.co/3p8Ulw72C1 pic.twitter.com/n9snTjQM0Q

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 28, 2024

“It’s a good training session for me,” De Grasse told World Athletics in a post-race interview. “I wanted to come out here, test my fitness and endurance and see where I’m at.”

For De Grasse, running these times in less-than-ideal conditions just two months before the Paris Olympic Games is a good sign, with the Bell Canadian Track and Field Trials four weeks from now. De Grasse has already hit Olympic qualification in the 200 metres, but has yet to run the 100m standard of 10.00 seconds.

De Grasse making a statement here in Ostrava 🙌

The Canadian wins the 100m and 200m at the World Athletics Continental Tour just 2 months out from #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/NX0PCMN0zW

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) May 28, 2024

“It’s early in the season, but I’m happy with the result. The weather was a little bit chilly for the 200, but next time I’ll get the sub-20,” De Grasse said. He will now head across the world to Taiwan to race another 200m on June 2.

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot records 1,500m season’s best

Although Quebec’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot already hit the Olympic standard for the men’s 1,500m event last year, he has had a slower start to the 2024 outdoor season than he wanted. Philibert-Thiboutot opened his season with a 3:36.73 on May 19 and followed six days later with a 3:37.10 effort in France. On Tuesday afternoon in Ostrava, the 33-year-old ran a season’s best 3:34.50, after putting himself in a position to win with one lap to go.

The bold move worked out for Philibert-Thiboutot, as he knocked two seconds off his previous best from this season and finished fourth. He will compete again in the 1,500m event at this Sunday’s Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden.