Olympic hero Andre De Grasse to race again at Harry Jerome Classic

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      Canadian Olympic track hero Andre De Grasse will be returning to compete at this year's Harry Jerome International Track Classic.

      De Grasse, who won both the 100-metre and 200-metre races at the 2016 Harry Jerome meet, enthralled Canadians—and the world—with his exciting matchups against Jamaican track star Usain Bolt in the Rio Olympic Summer Games last year, where De Grasse won the 200-metre silver and bronze in both the 400-metre relay and the 100-metre sprint.

      The Harry Jerome event will be held at Perry Percy Stadium in Coquitlam on June 28 this year instead of at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium, where it has taken place every year but two during its 34-year history, according to Doug Clement of the Achilles Track and Field Society, which organizes the annual meet.

      Clement told the Straight by phone that the society made the move because of the "high likelihood" of a resurfacing of the track at Swangard, which he called "one of the best small stadiums in the world for track and field".

      Although Clement characterized the capacity of Perry Percy Stadium as "minuscule" compared to Swangard—"Last year, we had about 6,000 people in Swangard, and we're going to a venue that is about half that size"—he did find reason to be optimistic about the switch to the Coquitlam venue, which he described as having a "fast track" that might enable De Grasse to post a record run.

      "I know Andre De Grasse is very excited about moving to a track that has a reputation for fast times," he said.

      Tickets to the meet are available online here.

       

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