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Canadian Andre De Grasse wins 200-metre Olympic gold

Canada's Andre De Grasse has made history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Canadian sprinter ran to a time of 19.62 seconds in the 200m final, winning the gold medal and setting a new national record in the process.

American runners Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles finished second and third, respectively. Bednarek finished with a time of 19.68 seconds while Lyles ran a 19.74.

De Grasse's triumph marks the first time a Canadian has won a sprinting event at the Olympics since Donovan Bailey claimed gold in the 100m at the 1996 Atlanta Games. It's the first time Canada has had a runner win the Olympic 200m race since Percy Williams did it in 1928 in Amsterdam.

"It feels amazing, won the gold, had a personal best, I couldn't have asked for more, I couldn't have asked for more," De Grasse said after the race.

"This was the race of my life. I'm just so happy, I'm so proud of myself. I finally got it done, I've been working hard for this moment for the past five years, I waited an extra year with the pandemic. I've just been training my butt off and I'm just so happy that I finally did it.

"Everyone back home was supporting me, my family was supporting me, my sponsors, just everybody was telling me I could get the job done. And my coach, he told me after last night 'You got this, just go out there and execute the race,' and I did that and I'm so proud of myself."

Andre De Grasse won the men's 200m gold medal on Wednesday, the first Canadian to claim gold since 1928. (Getty)
Andre De Grasse won the men's 200m gold medal on Wednesday, the first Canadian to claim gold since 1928. (Getty) (Getty Images)

The medal marks the fifth of De Grasse's career and his first ever gold. The 26-year-old now has one gold, one silver, and three bronze Olympic medals in his trophy case.

This is the second medal he's received at the Tokyo Games, as he also claimed bronze in the men's 100m earlier this week.

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