PARIS – Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter of his time and any time, won three straight Olympic gold medals at 100 metres, 200 metres and thought he had won three straight in the relay event as well.
He should have nine gold medals – the most in men’s Olympic sprinting history – all of them the same colour, were it not for a teammate who happened to test positive in Brazil.
The career total for Bolt ended up as eight gold instead of nine, world records in the 100, 200 and in the relay event that still stand today.: The number eight matters now and it will always matter.
Next on the list, all-time, is Andre De Grasse with seven.
And that by itself seems rather shocking.
Seven sprinting medals in nine Olympic races. Two gold. Two silver. Three bronze. Lucky number seven: the second most in history. No matter how you do the math.
There is, of course, no comparing De Grasse to Bolt – there is no comparing anyone to Bolt. Bolt is 6-foot-5, De Grasse is eight inches shorter. Bolt weighed around 210. De Grasse is listed at 154 but pushing it might weigh 160.
One man is both a giant and a giant in his game. The records he set in the 100m, the 200m, are almost 15 years old. That’s not the way it usually works in any sport. Records are made to be broken unless the records belong to Bolt.
De Grasse just happens to be a giant in a very different kind of way. He is an against all odds kind of giant in size and style. But he shows up for his fights. Shows up when it matters most. Shows up when he looks like he has nothing left. Shows up when he’s been written off.
In the 15 years prior to Bolt setting the 100 record at the 2008 Games in Beijing, the world record changed hands nine different times with six different sprinters. Since then, the only person to beat Bolt was Bolt.
And now an entire sport is chasing a rather tall ghost.
De Grasse has never won the 100m or matched the Canadian record still held by Donovan Bailey – and that’s remains both a goal and a dream of his, however far-fetched that may be. And while he won the 200 metres in Tokyo, he never ran the race in world record time.
He just showed up on the podium, the way he has regularly showed up on podiums.
And that’s what happened Friday night at a very loud and electric Stade de France. De Grasse and his relay partners showed up in Lane 9, the lane nobody ever wins from, with a struggling team qualifying last. They were no one’s pick to contend.
It wasn’t just De Grasse who looked like he was done coming into the 4x100m. It was the leadoff man, Aaron Brown, fighting illness, and a lack of confidence and disappointing performances in the 100 and 200 qualification races.
Brown is 32 years old. He almost certainly won’t be around for the Los Angeles Games in four years time. This was his last shot at Olympic standing. He ran a decent first leg. But nothing like what De Grasse brought in running the anchor.
De Grasse ran a 8.89 for his leg of the relay. He got the baton with Canada in third, maybe fourth, place. De Grasse, who had shown little speed in not qualifying for the 100 or the 200, had one race left in him, if this was last Olympic race.
He had one great sprint to go.
Which is what he should be known for as a Canadian Olympian for the rest of his life. How much he mattered when it mattered most.
The great Bailey won two gold medals in Atlanta and never had Olympic success after that.
Ben Johnson won a medal in his first Olympics and lost his gold in his second Olympics when he tested positive. In his third Olympics, he was only noticed because he was Ben Johnson.
Bruny Surin had one Olympic medal and numerous world championship medals, ran his last Olympic 100 metres in 50.94 seconds, a race he could have quit in when his leg exploded, but he forced his way to the finish line. The rest of the world may have been embarrassed by his time but he wasn’t. It meant something to him then, just to finish the race.
The way De Grasse means something now. His seven Olympic medals ties him with swimmer Penny Oleksiak for the most decorated Summer medals for any Canadian.
Their accomplishments may be similar in number, but not necessarily in stature. De Grasse has two gold medals. Oleksiak has one.
Oleksiak won four of her medals in relays. There are swim relays over 100 and 200 metres and other distances and various strokes involved. There are no 200 metre relays in track, just a 100 and a 400. You can only run one way: Fast.
A swimmer can race five or six times – sometimes more – in an Olympic meet. A sprinter has three chances to medal – if it can make it through all that it takes to run all three disciplines.
That doesn’t diminish what Oleksiak has done or what Summer McIntosh is almost certain to accomplish in the future. Track is just different. Track is the whole world. Track doesn’t give you six opportunities in a Games.
Andre De Grasse, with seven medals now in three Olympics, was a treasure of national significance prior to these Games. The rather stunning gold medal here – when all seemed lost – just takes him now to another level.