Andre De Grasse and men's 4x100m relay team set sights on Olympic title
Canada hasn't won Olympic gold in men's 4x100m relay since Atlanta in 1996
Going into his third Olympic Games, Brendon Rodney has "one single goal" on his mind.
Rodney, 32, has an Olympic silver medal from Tokyo in 2021 and a bronze from Rio in 2016. There's only one colour missing from the collection: gold.
"We want to get the job done," Rodney told CBC Sports last month before heading to Paris.
Now, the team that's been together for so long that they know each other's movements by instinct, will have what may be one last shot at Olympic gold. Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake join Rodney and De Grasse on the relay team, and should be the four running in a final, if everyone is healthy.
Two months ago, those four posted a season-best 37.89 seconds at the World Athletics Relays. Only the Americans, led by star sprinter Noah Lyles, were better that day in Nassau, Bahamas.
But the team sees better things on the horizon.
WATCH | De Grasse and Canada's 4x100 relay men have more to give at Paris 2024:
"We're not done," Brown told CBC Sports' Devin Heroux after that race.
After being named one of Canada's two flagbearers at the opening ceremony, 29-year-old De Grasse — the owner of six Olympic medals — told CBC Sports' Scott Russell that the honour has given him more motivation.
"It kind of makes me feel like I'm even more ready to get the job done."
'It's going to take a national record'
Three of the four members of the relay team have now been together for three Olympic Games. Rodney and Brown go as far back as high school, while Rodney and De Grasse have spent a decade as teammates and roommates on the national team.
They're just as close off the track as they are on it. When Brown got married, the rest of the team was there to support him. The only time they're not together is when they're competing in individual events, said Rodney, who described the group's bond as a brotherhood.
Reaching the top of the podium in Paris won't come easy with teams like the United States and Jamaica in the way.
"It's going to take a national record, some of the best running ever in the history of the sport, to win," Rodney said.
"And that's from any country, so if it's Jamaica, U.S., Great Britain, us. Whatever it takes, it's going to take some really good running.
"But it's also going to take the person who's the most relaxed and makes the least amount of mistakes. And I think when it comes to Canada and the relays, we usually make the least amount of mistakes as long as everybody's healthy."
'I never count them out'
Canada hasn't won gold in the men's 4x100 since Donovan Bailey, Bruny Surin, Robert Esmie and Glenroy Gilbert's golden performance in Atlanta in 1996.
Standing on that podium with his teammates was a dream come true for Esmie, Canada's leadoff runner in that race.
Nearly three decades later, Esmie, who helps build athletes' speed and expolosiveness with Airblastoff Sports, sees that same hunger on the current men's 4x100 team. They're not the favourite on paper, but Canada rarely is.
"I definitely know they'll be on the podium," he told CBC Sports. "The question is, what position? Based on paper, where they're ranked going in, based on collectively the times, I never count them out."
That applies especially to the anchor, De Grasse, a game-changer for track in Canada who made the podium in every Olympic event he entered in Tokyo and Rio.
"He shows up at the right time, in the right place."
Fans in the stands
They'll have to do it under the bright lights of a highly-anticipated Olympics, where athletes will compete with fans in the stands and family on the sidelines for the first time since 2016.
For Rodney, it means his mother will finally get the chance to see him run at an Olympics in person. She suffered a brain aneurysm before Rodney competed in Rio in 2016, and fans weren't allowed in 2021 due to COVID restrictions.
"I'm happy that she gets to celebrate these moments with me and hopefully some golden moments," said Rodney, who will also compete in the 200-metre event.
It also means more potential distractions from family members who want to catch up or need help finding tickets.
But for Rodney, going into his third games, the newness of the Games has worn off. Now, he's laser focused on that one golden goal.
Duan Asemota, Eliezer Adjibi and Malachi Murray will be in Paris as reinforcements for the 4x100 team.
Murray posted the second-best 100-metre time in the country (10.01) earlier this year, trailing only De Grasse.
Adjibi and Asemota joined Rodney and Blake for a tune up on the Diamond League circuit in London in July, finishing 4th.
Athletics events begin at the Olympics on Aug. 1. The men's 4x100 relay final is scheduled for Aug. 9 at 1:47 p.m. You can watch on CBC TV, CBC Gem, the CBC Olympics app and the CBC Olympics website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
