Andre De Grasse runs blistering - but wind-aided - 9.69 to win 100m in Stockholm
Canadian scores 2nd victory this week at Diamond League event
Canada's Andre De Grasse posted a wind-aided time of 9.69 seconds to win the 100-metre race at the Diamond League event in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday.
This follows the 22-year-old sprinter's performance earlier this week in Oslo where he won the 100 event at the Bislett Games for the second-straight year.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StockholmDL?src=hash">#StockholmDL</a> 100m: Andre <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse">@De6rasse</a> blazes a windy 9.69 for another <a href="https://twitter.com/Diamond_League">@Diamond_League</a> win!! <a href="https://t.co/5tAY3b05q7">pic.twitter.com/5tAY3b05q7</a>
—@AthleticsCanadaDeGrasse, of Markham, Ont., finished well in front of the Ivory Coast's Ben Youssef Meite (9.84) and Ryan Shields of Jamaica (9.89).
"It was a shock to me when I saw the time on the board," De Grasse said on the IAAF website. "I just wanted to run sub-10 and I didn't feel in the shape to run that fast.
"I'm really happy about it, it's a good start to the season. I'm just looking forward to running that fast legally."
The time would have been both a Canadian record and a big personal best for De Grasse, but the wind reading was an illegal 4.8 metres per second — anything two metres and above is deemed illegal.
"...[When] we went into the blocks and started racing, I didn't really feel the wind," said the three-time Olympic medallist. "That's the fastest I've ever run, it's going to be a shock to the body. [Monday] is going to hurt a little bit, but I'm just looking forward to the next race and see what I can do legally."
The Canadian record is 9.84, held by both Donovan Bailey (1996 Olympics) and Bruny Surin (1999 world championships). De Grasse's fastest time was the 9.91 he ran en route to winning bronze at last summer's Rio Olympics.
The victory was the third straight for De Grasse, who won the 100 at the Oslo Diamond League meet on Thursday as well as the 200 in Rome earlier in the month.
De Grasse's next meet is the Harry Jerome International Track Classic on June 28 in Coquitlam, B.C.
Emmanuel runs personal best
Crystal Emmanuel of Scarborough, Ont., set a personal best mark of 22.69 and was just .01 seconds behind the winner as she finished second in the women's 200m.
The 25-year-old eclipsed her previous personal best time of 22.80 and her new mark was also just 0.07 shy of the Canadian record set by Marita Payne in 1983.
Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast finished in front of Emmanuel with a time of 22.68, while Rebekka Haase of Germany was third in 22.76.
Meanwhile, Melissa Bishop of Eganville, Ont., completed the 800m with a time of one minute, 59.70 seconds which kept her just outside of the top three.
Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba was first with a time of 1:59.11 and was followed by Lovisa Lindh of Sweden in 1:59.41 and Switzerland's Selina Buchel in 1:59.66.
Diamond League on CBC Sports
CBC Sports is providing live streaming coverage of all 14 Diamond League meets this season at CBCSports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. TV coverage will be featured as part of the network's Road To The Olympic Games weekend broadcasts throughout the season.
The following is a list of upcoming Diamond League meets on CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app:
- Paris (July 1, 2 p.m. ET)
- Lausanne (July 6, 2 p.m. ET)
- London (July 9, 9 a.m. ET)
- Rabat (July 16, 2 p.m. ET)
- Monaco (July 21, 2 p.m. ET)
- Birmingham (Aug. 20, 2 p.m. ET)
- Zurich (Aug. 24, 3 p.m. ET)
- Brussels (Sept. 1, 3 p.m. ET)
With files from CBC Sports