Andre De Grasse qualifies for 200m final at 2023 World Athletics Championships

It’s been a challenging two years for Canada’s Andre De Grasse, but on Thursday night at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he secured a spot in his first 200m final since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. De Grasse ran to third place in his semi-final heat with a time of 20.10 seconds, marking the fastest non-automatic qualifying time for the final.

De Grasse faced a slow start out of the blocks, but accelerated around the turn into the final 100 metres, overtaking three or four sprinters and nearly surpassing Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes for second place. U.S. sprinter Erriyon Knighton took the victory with a time of 19.98 seconds, while Hughes claimed the second automatic qualifying spot in 20.02 seconds. De Grasse found himself waiting in the recently introduced Q Room, anticipating the completion of one more heat to determine his place in Friday’s final.

Despite his position in an outside lane for the final, De Grasse is thrilled to return to the grand stage. “I’m grateful to make it to a final once again,” De Grasse said in a post-race interview. “This season has been a challenge, but I’m ready to come out here tomorrow and compete.”

Shining under the bright lights 👏💫

Andre De Grasse is back in the 200m final.

“I’m grateful to make it back into the final again. It’s been a tough season but I just gotta get back out here tomorrow and compete.”#TeamCanada #WABudapest23 pic.twitter.com/hhQbjYIP3J

— Canadian Running (@CanadianRunning) August 24, 2023

De Grasse’s previous appearance in a world championship final was in 2019, where he took second place behind Noah Lyles with a time of 19.95. This marked Canada’s first World Championship medal in the 200m since Atlee Mahorn’s achievement in 1991. De Grasse went on to defeat Lyles at the Tokyo Olympics, claiming gold for Canada in the men’s 200m. Although De Grasse and Lyles haven’t competed since 2020, Lyles expressed eagerness to face De Grasse once again. (De Grasse withdrew from the 200m in Eugene last year due to post-COVID-19 fitness issues.)

Lyles enters Friday’s 200m final as the favourite, particularly following his victory in the 100m world championship here in Budapest. Emerging talents like Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Knighton are also contenders seeking a spot on the podium. De Grasse approaches the race with a fearless attitude familiar to Canadian track enthusiasts; when the spotlight shines brightest, De Grasse consistently rises to the occasion.

Canadian athletes Brendon Rodney and Aaron Brown also participated in Thursday’s 200m semifinal, encountering challenges along the way. Rodney was involved in a golf cart incident while being transported from the warmup track to the call room. Fortunately, he emerged unscathed, though the incident caused a 20-minute delay for his heat. Ultimately, Rodney secured fourth place, with a time of 20.27 seconds.

Brown concluded his heat in third place with a time of 20.19 seconds, initially qualifying with the second-fastest non-automatic time behind De Grasse, but he was disqualified post-race due to a lane infringement on the bend. Athletics Canada appealed the decision, but the appeal was denied, marking Brown’s first absence from the 200m final since 2017, when he was also disqualified for a lane violation.

The 2023 World Athletics Championships are taking place from August 19-27 at the National Stadium in Budapest, Hungary. All the action will be brought to you by Canadian Running and Asics Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.