Evolution of Andre De Grasse suggests he can run much faster
Canadian bronze medallist has room to get better
By Benjamin Blum, CBC Sports
Lost in all of the celebration of Andre De Grasse's bronze in the 100-metre final is the fact that he's still fairly raw as a sprinter.
This is not intended to diminish his accomplishment, just to point out that he can get even better.
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Usain Bolt's post-race praise for the 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., included a bit of friendly advice for the sport's next star.
"He's going to be good, he runs just like me, I mean he's really slow at the blocks but when he gets going, he gets going," Bolt told CBC Sports after the final on Sunday.
"I think he can improve his start much better than me because he's shorter so he will get better at the start if he works on a few things."
As he showed in Sunday's final, De Grasse has top-end speed to stay with the likes of Bolt, but his starts remain a work in progress.
So, what will it take for De Grasse to get even better?
Anson Henry, a two-time Olympic sprinter and a digital reporter with CBC Sports, offered some insight into the situation.
CBC Sports: What does De Grasse need to do technically to improve his starts?
It's a little deeper than what Bolt is saying. It's not his actual start that needs work; it's his whole acceleration from the blocks up into his upright running form. If you watch Andre's races, once he gets upright, that's when he makes his move, but he tends to be behind at the midway point because he is inconsistent in the way he gets from the blocks to his top speed.
If you think of it in the sense of driving a car, not shifting your gears in a consistent and efficient way can cause the car to accelerate slower. That's where Andre is with his acceleration phase right now. That comes with experience, and his coach is really working on his acceleration phase for the whole year.
I had a long chat with his coach Stu McMillan after the race and we had a long talk about all of this. He got Andre mid-year [De Grasse left his coach at USC in the winter], and Stu had told me that he didn't want to adjust too much with him as far as his race execution. It's a touchy thing to mess with in the middle of an Olympic year. It can change your entire race. Stu said that he is excited to do some serious work on Andre's acceleration phase throughout the fall next season to make sure that it becomes much more consistent.
CBC Sports: Bolt mentioned De Grasse's height as a factor that could help him improve his start time. How does height influence a runner's starting technique?
The shorter and more compact you are, the easier it is it is to turnover your legs and overcome inertia. Think of it as getting a small wheel rolling as opposed to getting a big wheel rolling. A lot of strength is necessary to be able to move long limbs out of the blocks quickly and get from zero to top-end speed.
That's a testament to Bolt's success, because even with his big body he has been able to have pretty good starts in most of his races. But Andre's body type is more characteristic of a person who should be able to get out of the blocks well. He will need to get a bit of power built into his body.
CBC Sports: What other improvements would help De Grasse progress in the 100 metres?
He's a very bouncy sprinter with a very fast turnover, but his overall strength and power isn't as prominent as most of his competitors. Getting this type of strength and power will not only improve his push out of the blocks, it will also allow him to put more force into the track, allowing him to propel his body even further with each stride. That's when he will really become scary.