Andre De Grasse repeats as bronze medalist in men’s 100m Olympic final

Andre De Grasse has won bronze in the men’s 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics.

Running in the far outside lane, the Markham, Ont., sprinter crossed the finish line in a time of 9.89, a personal best.

Italy’s Lamont Jacobs took the gold in 9.80 seconds, followed by American Fred Kerley in 9.84 seconds. All three medallists ran personal bests.

“To get back on the podium, it’s a great feeling, especially when we didn’t know last year if this was even going to happen,” said De Grasse. “I ran a personal best, so I can’t complain.”

It’s the fourth career Olympic medal for De Grasse and it matches the bronze medal he won five years ago in Rio. He’s also the first Canadian male athlete to win a medal for Canada at these Games, which have so far been dominated by female athletes.

“I didn’t even realize that,” De Grasse said of getting Canada’s men on the board. “That’s awesome. That’s cool.”

De Grasse is the first Canadian to win multiple Olympic medals in the 100m. It is Canada’s seventh Olympic medal all-time in the event.

De Grasse will have a day off before he’s back on the track for the 200 heats and semifinal on Tuesday. He captured silver in the 200 at both the 2016 Olympics and 2019 world championships.

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Also on the track, Edmonton’s Marco Arop, 22, led most of the 800-metre semifinal but fell behind at the very end to finish seventh. He failed to qualify to the final.

In the men’s high jump final, Toronto’s Django Lovett could not clear the 2.33-metre mark and finished in seventh place. Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy tied Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim for gold.

The Canadian women finished their impressive medal haul in the pool – including a record-setting performance from Penny Oleksiak. On the final day of swimming competition at the Tokyo Olympics, the Toronto swimmer took her place at the top among Canada’s greatest Olympians, helping the medley relay team win bronze. That was her seventh career Olympic medal, and at just 21 she became the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all time.

The women’s swim team amassed six medals in Tokyo – one gold, three silver and two bronze – to equal the half-dozen in Rio five years ago.

Diver Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que., struggled in the final of the women’s three-metre springboard and finished eighth.

Abel had finished third in Saturday’s semifinals and looked ready to claim her first individual Olympic medal. But she missed her entry into the water on her third dive and that misstep put her in ninth position and ultimately ended her podium chances.

“It might sound strange, but I’m still happy,” said Abel. “I’m happy because I prepared well, I came here telling myself that I would be physically and mentally ready, and I was.

“I’ve been really stable. Unfortunately I missed one (dive). I wish I would have missed it in the preliminary round or semifinal, and had the opposite happen (today), but that wasn’t the case.

“The mistake I made cost me a podium spot. What I’m most proud of is I’m ending my day with a smile. That’s something I would not have done before.”

Wrestler Erica Wiebe lost her opening bout in the women’s 76-kilogram competition and was eliminated later in the day, meaning she will not repeat as Olympic champion.

The grappler from Stittsville, Ont., who won gold in the women’s 75 kg competition at the 2016 Rio Games, dropped a 5-4 decision to Estonia’s Epp Maee in a round-of-16 matchup at the Makuhari Messe Hall.

In beach volleyball, Heather Bansley of Waterdown, Ont., and Brandie Wilkerson of Toronto advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory over Americans Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil. The Canadian pair dropped the first set, but came back to set up a date with Latvians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka in the next round.

Toronto sailor Sarah Douglas finished sixth in the women’s laser radial competition, the best-ever result for Canada in that event. Douglas entered Sunday’s medal race in fourth position, but dropped two spots after sailing to ninth in the final.

Canada’s women’s basketball team is on the brink after a 76-66 loss to Spain. The Canadians finished group play with a 1-2 record and will need to wait on other results to see if they advance to the quarterfinals.

In golf, Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., carded a final round of 6-under 65 to finish 13th overall. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., ended up 50th after a final round of 4 over.