Andre De Grasse

Andre De Grasse

Andre De Grasse[a Canadian sprinter] was born on November 10th, 1994 in Scarborough, Ontario. He has three sisters named, Julian, Alexandra, and Dantee Waithe. Andre’s father[Alex Waithe] moved from Barbados to Canada when he was a teenager, Andre’s mother[Beverley De Grasse] immigrated to Toronto from Trinidad and Tobago in her mid-20s. Andre’s parents were both sprinters when they were younger.

Andre De Grasse was raised by his mother in Markham, Ontario. Growing up, Andre played soccer, basketball, and baseball. At Milliken Mills High School, Andre’s attention was narrowed to basketball. As a teen, Andre wanted to be in the NBA. He was great at the game of basketball, until  the  school cancelled  the basketball program. After that Andre’s grades were low and he was hanging out with the wrong people and doing drugs.

At the age of 17, Andre decided to join his friends and compete in a regional high school track and field event. During the track and field championships, held at New York University in May 2012. Andre competed in the senior 100m dash, 200m dash and long jump. Andre decided not to use the starting blocks, instead he stood upright and sideways, like a baseball player getting ready to run to second base. His time was 10.91 seconds. It was wasn’t unusual for senior boys to run a 100m in under 11 seconds. Andre de Grasse did it without a coach or starting blocks.

At the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil. Andre de Grasse got three medals, he won a silver in the 200m finishing after Usain Bolt(the fastest man on Earth). He got a bronze in the 100m after finishing after Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt, and got a silver in the men's 4x100m.