Andre De Grasse has fallen short of qualifying for an event final for the second time at the Olympics in Paris — and now there is an injury concern heading into the relay.
The Canadian star, 29, was eliminated in the semifinals of the men's 200 metres on Wednesday at Paris 2024, meaning he will not defend his Olympic title.
After the race, De Grasse told CBC Olympics he re-aggravated a nagging hamstring injury.
"I thought I was pretty much healthy coming into the Games. I kind of picked it up a little bit in the 100 metres and felt the effects the next day," he said. "... Once I got out here for the 200-metre heats, I thought I was good. But right on that bend, the pain was just too much and I couldn't even push. I knew it was going to be tough to make the finals after that."
De Grasse said he still plans to compete in the 4x100-metre relay, which starts Thursday morning. He helped Canada win silver and bronze in that event the past two Olympics.
"It doesn't hurt as much on the straight with a running start," De Grasse said. "It should be a lot better."
De Grasse was third in the first 200-metre heat in 20.41 seconds. The top two finishers in each of the three semifinal heats and the next two best times qualified for the final. De Grasse was eliminated after third- and fourth-place finishers posted better times than him in the second heat.
De Grasse's time was well off his personal best of 19.62 seconds.
Fellow Canadians Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney also were eliminated in the 200-m semis.
De Grasse, a six-time Olympic medal winner from Markham, Ont., was ousted in the semifinals of the 100 metres earlier in the meet.
De Grasse's 200 exit came one day after his personal coach, Rana Reider, had his accreditation revoked by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The organization said Reider was on probation with the U.S. Center for SafeSport until May, and the decision to accredit him was based on the understanding that he had no other suspensions or sanctions against him.
After his 200-metre race, De Grasse told Post Media's Dan Brown that he was going to "re-evaluate" his professional relationship with Reider.
"I mean, I don’t know what to think of it," DeGrasse told Brown. "I don’t know. So, I mean, kind of just have to re-evaluate after the Games and try to just keep my head for the (4×100 metre relay) and try to support the guys."
Reider's probation was for a “consensual romantic relationship with an adult athlete, which presented a power imbalance.”
U.K. media outlets have reported the decision is tied to safeguarding concerns and allegations of sexual and emotional abuse, and court documents filed in Broward County, Fla., shows three women filing suit against Reider there.
De Grasse told Brown that he didn't know about the lawsuits when he started to work with Reider again in 2023.
"I mean, I didn’t know the issue. … (He) served this time," De Grasse told Brown. Everything was good. I went back. You know, my federation, everybody said it was good to go. He was all cleared. They gave him the accreditation and then all of a sudden, I guess, there was a new case. So, I knew nothing about it. So, it kind of just sprung out to me the same time you guys knew. So, of course, that’s a tough one to swallow, to try to just know about that, you know, right before you’re about to run.
The allegations against Reider have not been proven in court and he has not been charged with a crime.
-- with files from The Canadian Press
