Andre De Grasse to headline Canada's Commonwealth Games team
Competition runs April 4-15 in Gold Coast, Australia
Star sprinter Andre De Grasse will lead Canada's track and field team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, beginning April 4 in Gold Coast, Australia.
Athletics Canada announced its roster of 46 athletes and para-athletes Wednesday. De Grasse, form Markham, Ont., has been nominated to compete in the men's 200-metres and the men's 4x100 relay.
De Grasse earned medals in both events at the 2016 Rio Olympics, claiming silver in the 200 and helping Canada's relay team win bronze.
Canada did not nominate a sprinter for the men's 100, an event in which De Grasse earned bronze in Rio. But Athletics Canada said in a tweet that specific event entries for each athlete could be subject to change.
Decathlete Damian Warner of London, Ont., will look to defend the gold medal he won at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, while wheelchair racer Diane Roy of Sherbrooke, Que., will try to top the podium after winning silver in the women's T54 1,500 four years ago.
"As an athlete, there's something different and special about the Commonwealth Games," Roy said in a statement. "It has a very inclusive spirit as the para-athletes share training facilities, compete in the same stadium and live in the village with all of the other athletes and teams from the Commonwealth.