Canadian champion De Grasse fails to qualify for 200-metre final

Andre De Grasse will not have a chance to defend his Olympic title in the 200-metre final on Thursday.

The Markham athlete finished third in his semifinal on Wednesday, and was eliminated from advancing after the third and fourth finishers in the next semifinal ended with better times.

De Grasse won a gold medal for Canada at the Tokyo games, even finishing with a personal best time.

The athlete was on CHCH Morning Live earlier this summer, and said he was excited for what this year’s games had in store.

“I’m grateful to be going to my third Olympic games, because not a lot of athletes are able to get that longevity,” he told CHCH.

“I just want to go up there and be my best.”

This comes after another Canadian runner, Moh Ahmed, failed to advance to the 5,000-metre final after suffering a disastrous fall.

READ MORE: St. Catharines native Moh Ahmed suffers tough Olympics loss