Andre De Grasse, Jerome Blake 1-2 for Canada in 200m at Continental Tour Gold meet
Win in Poland was reigning Olympic sprint champ's 4th in 6 races at distance in 2021
It didn't have the same drama and flair as the recent men's Olympic 200-metre final in Tokyo but champion Andre De Grasse was every bit as strong.
Facing a less imposing field Sunday in Poland, De Grasse held form in the final metres after overtaking Jerome Blake at the top of the straightaway and crossed the finish line first in 20.21 seconds to edge his Canadian teammate.
WATCH | De Grasse wins his 4th 200-metre race of 2021:
It was the 26-year-old sprinter's first 200 since he clocked a national record 19.62 on Aug. 4 in Japan to beat American Kenny Bednarek for his first Olympic gold medal.
De Grasse's victory marked the third time a Canadian has captured gold in the event and first since Percy Williams in 1928 in Amsterdam.
WATCH | De Grasse blazes to Olympic 200-metre gold:
The six-time Summer Games medallist from Markham, Ont., also earned bronze in both the 100 and 4x100 relay.
De Grasse took three weeks off from competition following the Olympics before winning the 100 at the Prefontaine Classic in a wind-aided 9.74 seconds on Aug. 21 in Eugene, Ore.
Blake stopped the clock in 20.32 on Sunday and Filippo Tortu of Italy rounded out the podium in 20.40 at the Kamila Skolimowsa Memorial meet in Chorzów.
The 26-year-old Blake of Burnaby, B.C., joined De Grasse in helping Canada to relay bronze in his Olympic debut last month.
He entered Sunday's competition fresh off a 20.20 personal best and sixth-place finish at the Pre Classic.
Saskatoon's Michelle Harrison, 28, was the other Canadian in action at Sunday's World Athletics Continental Tour Gold track and field meet.
The 2021 Canadian champion began her day running 13.35 for an eighth-place performance in the women's 100 hurdles a week after setting a 13.10 SB in Donnas, Italy.
Fraser-Pryce sets meet mark in women's 100
Tobi Amusan of Nigeria won in 12.64, 1-100th of a second faster than American Sharika Nelvis' meet record from Aug. 15, 2017. Jamaica's Megan Tapper and Christina Clemons of the United States followed in 12.75 and 12.92, respectively.
About 40 minutes later, Harrison — the U Sports women's track athlete of the year for 2020 — ran 12.02 to place ninth in the women's 100.
WATCH | Fraser-Pryce claims 100-metre victory ahead of Kambundji, Neita:
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won Olympic silver in Tokyo, captured Sunday's race in 10.81 and took 20-100ths off fellow Jamaican Carrie Russell's meet mark of 11.01 from Aug. 24, 2013.
Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji followed Fraser-Pryce across the line in 11.08 ahead of Great Britain's Daryll Neita (11.15).
The two-day Diamond League Final is scheduled for Sept. 8-9 in Zurich.
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