Defending champion Andre De Grasse has advanced into the Olympic men’s 200-metre semifinals.
The 29-year-old from Markham, Ont., crossed the finish line in 20.30 seconds to finish second behind Olympic men’s 100m champion Noah Lyles of the U.S. (20.19) in Heat 6 on Monday at Stade de France.
American Kenneth Bednarek was first overall with a time of 19.96.
Although De Grasse missed the 100m final on Sunday night, he has performed well in the 200m this year, demonstrating significant improvement after two years of injury and struggling to return to form.
He closed last season with his fourth-best time ever, 19.76 seconds, to win the Diamond League title in September.
Andre De Grasse of Markham, Ont., finished second in his men’s 200-metre first-round heat, with a time of 20.30 seconds, to advance directly into the semifinals at Paris 2024.
Brendon Rodney of Etobicoke, Ont., a two-time Olympic medallist in the 4x100m relay, will run again in the repechage round despite having the 12th-best time on Monday as he placed outside the top two in his heat.
Fellow Canadian Aaron Brown, of Toronto, will also have another chance in the repechage round. The semifinal rounds are set for Wednesday with the final on Thursday.
Before the Olympics, De Grasse last ran the 200 at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix on July 9, where he won with a season-best 19.98 seconds.
His coach, Rana Reider, told The Canadian Press that De Grasse ran ‘really conservative’ in that race.
Leduc out of women’s 200m final
In the women’s 200, Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., finished sixth in her semifinal and did not advance to Tuesday’s final.
Jacqueline Madogo of Guelph, Ont., who won her repechage heat earlier Monday, placed seventh in the other semifinal and also failed to qualify for the final.
Newman into women’s pole vault final
Earlier in the day, Alysha Newman advanced into her first Olympic women’s pole vault final. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.55 metres on her first attempt in qualifying action to advance.
Qualifying for Wednesday’s final required clearing 4.70 metres or being among the top 12 performers. Newman was one of 11 vaulters to clear the 4.55 mark.
Newman is the Canadian record holder at 4.83 metres and is in her third Olympics.
Canada’s Alysha Newman is headed to the final of the women’s pole vault after a clearance of 4.55 in the qualification round at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
She has cleared 4.75-plus metres in three of her last four meets leading into the Paris Games after returning from an ankle injury suffered in March just before the world indoor championships.
Saskatoon’s Anicka Newell did not qualify after failing to get over the bar on all three of her attempts at 4.55.
Jean-Simon Desgagnes also qualified for the men’s 3000 steeplechase final on Monday.
The 26-year-old from Quebec City finished fifth in Heat 3 with a time of eight minutes 25.28 seconds to take the last qualifying spot in his heat for Wednesday’s final.
Jean-Simon Desgagnés of Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., finished fifth in his first round heat to advance to the Olympic men’s 3,000-metre steeplechase final at Paris, 2024.