One of Canada’s most decorated Olympians isn’t ready to stop competing at the Summer Games.
In an interview with CBC Sports ahead of this weekend’s Grand Slam Track Miami event, Andre De Grasse said he intends on running at L.A. 2028.
The seven-time Olympic medallist said he’ll be taking a season-by-season approach to attempt to build toward another Games, but the drive is still there.
“I feel like I still got some more in the tank, so I’m definitely going to try to push to 2028 in L.A.,” De Grasse said.
This first season in a new Olympic quadrennial will be a busy one for the 30-year-old Canadian sprinter, capped by the world championships in Tokyo in September.
But before the worlds, or next week’s World Athletics Relays, De Grasse will continue this season with the Grand Slam Track meet at Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Fla.
Watch all the action from Grand Slam Track Miami beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
For De Grasse, a native of Markham, Ont., the decision to compete in the new elite track league had a lot to do with location.
He’s currently training at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., under coach Mike Holloway. That’s where De Grasse won the 200 metres in 20.32 seconds at the Florida Relays three weeks ago, and followed that up by helping Canada win the 4x100m relay event.
WATCH | Team Canada’s victorious run at 2:38:
Grand Slam Track — the brainchild of American sprint legend Michael Johnson — presented the chance for De Grasse to run his first 100-metre race of the season against top talent, without going overseas. It also means that De Grasse – who currently lives in Florida with his partner, American hurdler Nia Ali, and their three children – can stay closer to home.
“I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try it out and still be kind of close to home and not jeopardize too much of my training,” he said. “We always have to try to go overseas and travel so far just to get a race.”
WATCH |Â Andre De Grasse explains why he’s racing in the Grand Slam Track circuit:
Canada’s most decorated Olympic sprinter also talks about why he wants to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The new league’s format is another reason that interested De Grasse. Grand Slam Track has athletes compete in two different disciplines, with points awarded in both events related to placement. For De Grasse’s men’s short sprints group, that means running in both 100m and 200m races.
That format could serve as an advantage for the Canadian, who won Olympic gold in the 200m at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and is a member of the reigning Olympic champion 4x100m relay team.
“It definitely reminds me a little bit about how, when I go to world championships, I run the double. So, I felt like this would be good training,” De Grasse said. “I’m used to doing two races at a time, so I don’t think that would affect me or bother me as much as other athletes.”
The field in Miami includes Americans Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley, Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes.
De Grasse is very familiar with his competition and sees racing against them as a good measuring stick at the start of a long season.
“These are guys that I’ve raced plenty of times at the Olympics or world championships,” De Grasse said. “I feel like it’s a great field for both races. I’m just looking forward to the challenge, and seeing where I’m at.
“It’s going to be my opener for the 100, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I match up against these guys.”
Another competitor in the field is someone De Grasse knows very well – his Canadian 4x100m relay teammate Jerome Blake. About a week after they line up against one another, De Grasse and Blake will once again team up at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.
Competition in the men’s short sprints begins on Saturday at 6:53 p.m. ET with the 100m event. The 200m race is the final event on Sunday, scheduled to begin at 5:21 p.m. ET.
Other Canadians at the Miami event include Marco Arop (men’s short distance), Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (men’s long distance), and Lucia Stafford (women’s short distance).
No slowing down in 2025
The rest of De Grasse’s season will see him travel around the world, with the World Athletics Relays in China starting on May 10, plus Diamond League meets, and it culminates with the world championships in Tokyo.
But he also has his eye on the seasons still to come – and the 2028 Olympic Games.
“Obviously I’m taking it year by year. But, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m in a new training environment. So, yeah, I’m definitely feeling pretty good.
“The main thing for me is just staying healthy…and knock on wood, I’ve been healthy. I’ve been feeling great. So as long as the body is good, I can keep pushing and keep going.
WATCH | Track’s new pro league, Grand Slam Track, explained:
Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson is the man behind the new professional track league.
De Grasse will be 33 years old by the time the next Summer Games roll around, but he’s encouraged by examples of athletic longevity currently on display in track.
“I see so many other athletes that have done it. You’re still seeing Shelly-Ann [Fraser-Pryce] still doing it, and she’s [38] and running crazy times.”
De Grasse also has some inspiration that’s a little closer to home. To be specific, in his home.
“My partner Nia Ali, she was 31 or 32 when she won the world championship in 2019,” he said. “So, I feel like anything’s possible if you just have the mindset, the dedication, and hard work to keep telling yourself to do it.”
