“Wearing the Team Canada uniform gives me energy”: Andre De Grasse on racing for glory at the Paris Olympics

With six medals in eight years, Andre De Grasse has become the most decorated male Summer Olympian in Canadian history. The sprinter, who was born in Scarborough and raised in Markham, brought Canada to its feet in 2016 as he kept pace with Usain Bolt and took home three medals in the process. Then, in 2021, he won gold in the 200-metre final with a blisteringly fast—and Canadian record-setting—time of 19.84 seconds. Now 29 and a father of three, he enters his third Olympics as a wily veteran and Canada’s best hope for sprinting glory. We spoke to De Grasse about how he’s preparing for Paris, how he manages to show up when it matters most, and the new philanthropic and business ventures keeping him busy off the track.

Any track fan knows that, when the Olympics are close, you’re firing on all cylinders. What’s a day in your life like lately? I’m deep into the grind of training and racing and fine-tuning things before Paris. I treat it like a nine-to-five: breakfast is at 8 a.m. and training begins at 10 a.m. I do sprints at the track, then strength and mobility exercises in the weight room until 3 p.m. After that, I get an hour of physio in before I go home. If I’m at home in Jacksonville, Florida, I’ll spend the evening with my kids. If I’m on the road, I’ll occasionally play tourist. I had the chance to explore Rome earlier this year, but that doesn’t happen often.

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You came into this season in recovery mode after a toe injury hampered your training in 2023. Do you feel like you’re back at 100 per cent? I feel like I’m over the hump. I spent the spring getting my lungs back into shape to prepare for three rounds of 100-metre races and three rounds of 200-metre races. Now all that’s left is to refine my technique.

You’ve become the king of peaking at the right time. What’s the secret to being at your best for the biggest races of the year? If there’s a secret, I don’t know what it is! Wearing the Team Canada uniform during championship meets gives me a different kind of energy, but it’s also that we arrive at the Olympics weeks in advance to avoid jet lag and adjust to the surrounding climate and food. That probably helps me nail big races. My coach always tells me that my body will remember how fast it can go when it matters most. He and our team of strength trainers and athletic therapists are responsible for at least 50 per cent of my key performances, so perhaps they know the secret.

Do you have a pre-race ritual? I listen to music to keep calm, usually hip hop and R&B. I like Drake and the Weeknd and a bit of Big Sean and J. Cole. But I can also get into Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Beyond music, I just try not to eat or do anything that I’m not used to. The idea is to keep things as familiar as possible.

So you can’t get behind Usain Bolt’s strategy of eating 1,000 chicken nuggets during the Beijing Olympics? Ha! Not unless that was his norm.

Eight years have passed since you and Bolt seemed to have developed a bromance while each winning three sprinting medals at the Rio Olympics. Are you two still tight? No, we don’t really talk. We were cool at the track, but those races in 2016 were more of a fun moment than a bromance. Though he did congratulate me over text after I won gold in 2021.

With all due respect to Bolt, sprinting seems to have become more exciting since he retired—his departure opened the field for a new winner every year. Who will be your toughest competitor this year? Likely one of the Americans. Six-time world champion Noah Lyles will be a main competitor, and there are several athletes from all over Africa and Europe who could surprise everybody and take the win. But I’m more excited about it than nervous.

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Are you entering the competition with a goal in mind? I want to break the Canadian 100-metre record of 9.84 seconds, set by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin. It’s the main thing I want to accomplish before I finish track, and I feel like it’s within reach. I’ve run in the 9.70s, but with an illegal tailwind that was stronger than two metres per second. I hold the Canadian 200-metre record and was on the team that set a new 4x100-metre relay record in 2022. It would be great to finish my career with the 100-metre record too.

Canada has quietly become an international powerhouse in the men’s 4x100-metre relay: you, Brendon Rodney, Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake are the best team we’ve ever put together. Do you train with any of them on a regular basis? Jerome just joined our training group in Jacksonville. It’s my first time training with another Canadian. It’s a nice change, and it’s cool to share the Olympic excitement with him.

How’s life in Jacksonville? You’re balancing full-time training with raising three kids. It’s hectic. The kids are nine, six and three, and it’s summer break now, so they want our attention. It’s an unusual set-up because my wife, American hurdler Nia Ali, is also a professional track athlete. Thankfully, we have some child care help from our parents.

Because of pandemic restrictions, your kids had to watch you win Olympic gold in the 200-metre on a screen in 2021. Do you plan to take the whole family to Paris this year? We do. They were in the crowd for the past two World Championships, in Oregon and Budapest. They’re starting to grasp the concept that their parents are professional runners, and I love to know that they’ll be there in person for these games too.

Are they showing early signs of sprinting promise? Our daughter does tennis and gymnastics, and our youngest son kicks the ball around, but it’s too soon to know about track. I only picked up sprinting at 16—my elementary and middle school years were all about basketball.

You’re turning 30 soon, and you seem to be giving back to your community more and more. You run the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation, and you’re an ambassador for Kids Help Phone. Are you setting out to become the world’s fastest philanthropist? I don’t want to be known as someone who just won medals. I want to be someone who was able to help other people achieve their goals. For five years now, we’ve raised money to provide dozens of kids with scholarships to Canadian and American schools so that they can pursue sports and get an education. Many of them are going on to do good things in athletics and beyond. One of them, Christopher Morales-Williams, just broke the indoor 400-metre world record, and we’re going to be teammates in Paris. It’s gratifying to know that I could make a difference in someone else’s life.

You also launched ADG Ignite Ventures late last year, through which you’re backing a number of start-ups. How do you decide which companies to invest in? Right now, we’re invested in gym equipment manufacturer Tut Fitness and insole company Plantiga, among others. I typically invest in products I’m into and people I get along with. I’ve come to enjoy investing because I was used to traditional sponsorships, which is more transactional: I do something for you, you pay me cash. With investing, you feel like you’re part of a team: if you do well, I do well, and vice versa.

You’ve also invested in AFC Toronto City, Toronto’s new women’s soccer team. Can we expect to see you in the stands when the league launches in 2025? Absolutely. Any time I’m in Toronto, I’ll be there. Women’s sports are at a fever pitch right now—the PWHL is doing amazing things, and the WNBA is all over ESPN. I believe in Toronto’s team, and I want to play a part in their growth.

What else is on your must-visit list when you come back home? I’ve lived in America for the past decade, and the spots I know are from my teenage years. So when I come back, I let my friends call the shots. The last place I went was the Cactus Club, and I had a great meal at Mademoiselle downtown. If it’s late and things are closed, my guilty pleasure in Scarborough is Johnny’s Hamburgers.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.