Andre De Grasse wins gold in men’s 200 metres at Oslo Diamond League

Andre de Grasse (Fernando Frazao, Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian Olympic silver medalist Andre De Grasse of Scarborough, Ontario, and Aaron Brown of Toronto, Ontario led Canada to a 1-2 finish in the men’s 200 metres at the Oslo Diamond League event on Thursday. De Grasse posted a winning time of 20.09 seconds, while Brown was in second with 20.38 seconds.

De Grasse earned a medal by 0.62 seconds over Eseosa Fostine Desalu of Italy, who was in fourth place with a time of 20.71 seconds. Brown earned a medal by 0.33 seconds. Isaac Makwala of Botswana won the silver medal with a time of 20.61 seconds.

With the win, De Grasse moved into first place in the 2021 Diamond League standings in the men’s 200 metres with 21 points. Brown is in second with 20 points, and Kenneth Bednarek of the United States is in third place with 16 points. It should be noted that Bednarek, who looked excellent in the first two Diamond League races this year in Gateshead, England, and Doha, Qatar, was not competing in Oslo.

There is no doubt that De Grasse and Brown will have to get by three Americans to reach the Olympic podium in Tokyo. At the United States Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon last month, three Americans ran under 20 seconds. Noah Lyles was at 19.74 seconds, Bednarek was at 19.78 seconds, and Erriyon Knighton was at 19.84 seconds. De Grasse’s season best time so far in 2021 was 19.89 seconds (in Qatar), behind the top three ranked Americans.

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