What’s the story of the Canadian sprinter who ‘disrespected’ Usain Bolt at the Olympics?
Back in 2017, Usain Bolt seemed to call out one of his old rivals, saying, “The last guy I said was going to be great disrespected me.” So, what happened to the athlete who got on the great Jamaican’s nerves?
Usain Bolt, now 39, is still the fastest man ever. He holds the world records for the 100m and 200m races, with times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds, both set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Since Bolt retired in 2017, no one has run faster than 9.70 seconds in the 100m. Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and the USA’s Tyson Gay share the second-fastest times ever, both clocking 9.69 seconds in their careers.
A year before Bolt retired, he competed at his last Olympics in Rio in 2016. At almost 30, many younger sprinters wanted to stop Bolt from winning his famous ‘triple triple’ of three gold medals at three Games.
One of those rising stars was Canada’s Andre De Grasse. De Grasse annoyed Bolt in the 200m semi-finals when he didn’t slow down near the finish line. After the race, Bolt said, “He was supposed to slow down. I said, ‘What are you doing? It’s a semi-final.’ But I think he wanted to push me.”
Bolt also mentioned in another interview, “He decided to run fast, and I saw he set a national record. So he means business.”
At that time, De Grasse’s 19.80 seconds was a Canadian record. Since then, he has improved it to 19.62 seconds in the 200m final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
As they crossed the 200m semi-final finish line in Rio, Bolt playfully wagged his finger at De Grasse with a smile, showing it was all in good fun. De Grasse said after the race that he wanted to “challenge” Bolt.
Later, in the final, Bolt won with 19.78 seconds, and De Grasse took silver in 20.02 seconds. France’s Christophe Lemaitre finished third.
Since Bolt retired in 2017, that was the last time De Grasse faced him in a big meet.
So, what happened next?
Now 31, De Grasse is a seven-time Olympic medalist and one of Canada’s most successful Olympians. He won 200m gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games and earned a World Championships silver in Doha in 2019.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, De Grasse helped Canada win 4x100m relay gold. They were underdogs but beat South Africa and Great Britain, while the favorites, the USA, were disqualified for a baton mistake.
However, De Grasse didn’t defend his 200m title, finishing third in the semis and missing the final. He also missed the 100m final, though he ran a season’s best 9.98 seconds in the semis.
In 2025, De Grasse was the anchor for Canada’s 4x100m relay team at the World Championships, winning silver behind the USA.
Though he might be past his peak, De Grasse plans to compete in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. In a 2026 interview, he said, “I want to be competitive again in the 100m and try to bring home more medals at my final Games, close to home.”
When asked about the playful moment with Bolt in 2016, De Grasse explained it wasn’t planned. “My coach told me to go out hard and finish top two in the semis because Usain was in my heat, but to save energy for the final,” he said.
He continued, “At about 160 or 170 meters, you usually look around to see if you can slow down. I saw Usain doing the same, so we just smiled at each other. I didn’t know the moment would be so big because I wasn’t on social media and was just focusing on the race.
“After the race, he asked, ‘What are you doing?’ He thought I was trying to run hard, but I was just saving energy for the final because I knew I’d race him again! (laughs).”