Andre De Grasse's 200m Olympic gold ignites Canadian celebration

Andre De Grasse, the first Canadian to win a gold medal in the 200m since Percy Williams in 1928, clocked in with a national-record time of 19.62 seconds.

Markham, Ont., native wins 1st Canadian gold in 200m since Percy Williams in 1928

Marcus Rebelo · CBC Sports · Posted: Aug 04, 2021 7:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 4, 2021

The Markham, Ont., native finished ahead of American Kenneth Bednarek, who captured silver with a time of 19.68, while his fellow countrymen Noah Lyles took bronze in 19.74. (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)

With his signature strong finish in the men's 200-metre, Canada's Andre De Grasse crossed the line first to become Olympic champion.

De Grasse, the first Canadian to win a gold medal in the 200m since Percy Williams in 1928, clocked in with a national-record time of 19.62 seconds.

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The Markham, Ont., native finished ahead of a pair of Americans — Kenneth Bednarek, who captured silver with a time of 19.68, and Noah Lyles, who won bronze with 19.74.

Congratulatory social media messages and celebrations commenced after the 26-year-old's historic win.

Mr. Mayor, we like your style. <a href="https://t.co/SRxqbnUZbe">https://t.co/SRxqbnUZbe</a>
—@AthleticsCanada

GOLD!!! Congratulations, <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCanadaGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCanadaGo</a> 🥇🇨🇦 <a href="https://t.co/2ZQhDqx1Hc">https://t.co/2ZQhDqx1Hc</a>
—@JustinTrudeau

Watching Andre winning Gold. Welcome to the club!!!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/champions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#champions</a> 🥇 <a href="https://t.co/QEDSS2qhRY">pic.twitter.com/QEDSS2qhRY</a>
—@donovanbailey

Welcome to the 200m club, Andre de Grasse. Usain has been waiting for you. 🥇 <a href="https://t.co/FdSYf12vqJ">pic.twitter.com/FdSYf12vqJ</a>
—@Olympics

Andre De Gold!🏅 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SBAAlumi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SBAAlumi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> <a href="https://t.co/OhfPG4wClx">https://t.co/OhfPG4wClx</a>
—@sbabball

I will always remember this image of Olympic gold medalist Andre De Grasse. The sacrifice…the emotion…the love for his country. This picture says a thousand words. <a href="https://t.co/oLh6LWGiHo">pic.twitter.com/oLh6LWGiHo</a>
—@Sid_Seixeiro

If we end up naming a school after our newest gold medalist, the most Canadian thing would be to call it De Grasse Junior High.
—@ian_mendes

Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> on your gold medal win! The Toronto Sign will be lit in gold to celebrate your win. You’ve made the entire GTA and all of Canada so proud!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamCanada</a> <a href="https://t.co/xFI5bq7haE">pic.twitter.com/xFI5bq7haE</a>
—@JohnTory

This photo is everything. Congrats to Andre De Grasse on Olympic GOLD <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TokyoOlympics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TokyoOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/vKPlSD8iYs">pic.twitter.com/vKPlSD8iYs</a>
—@nadineyousif_

Andre De Grasse is definitely one of Canada’s coolest athletes
—@_kishanmistry

🚨 TORONTO MANS EXCELLENCE 🚨 Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a>! 🥇<a href="https://t.co/GfjiLrdllB">https://t.co/GfjiLrdllB</a>
—@Toronto

Fellow Canadian athletes and Olympians chimed in, in support of their compatriot following the gold-medal race.

I know we have been talking a lot about mother’s competing at this Olympics but how nice was it to see <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> celebrate his Gold Medal performance with his kids! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Priceless?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Priceless</a>
—@MandyBujold

HES GOLD 🥇 !!! Congratulations, <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> ! 🇨🇦
—@janinebeckie

WOW <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> bringing gold back to Canada winning the 200m! 🇨🇦 CONGRATULATIONS <a href="https://t.co/gJPknIYWbz">pic.twitter.com/gJPknIYWbz</a>
—@markmcmorris

I see you too... Gold Member! 🥇🇨🇦🙌🏿 I know I’ll get jam if I don’t say this...big up Scarborough too 😂👏🏿 <a href="https://t.co/yJElIS630I">pic.twitter.com/yJElIS630I</a>
—@PKSubban1

Andre!!!!!!!!! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
—@dmatheson8

Imagine both of your parents being Olympic gold medalists? Talk about good genes! Unbelievable! ❤️👊🇨🇦 <a href="https://t.co/lspOoVubjt">pic.twitter.com/lspOoVubjt</a>
—@maxdomi

De Grasse shared his post-race celebration to Instagram.

His partner Nia Ali — an Olympic medallist and world champion hurdler from the United States — admired the Canadian's performance in Tokyo.

Toronto's Aaron Brown finished sixth in the 200m final with a time of 20.20.

Brown revealed the motivation behind his run and congratulated his Canadian teammate.

Thank you all for the support! This one stings but I’ll grow from this and come back hungrier Have to make sure my son knows his dad will always get back up and go harder Congrats to the new Olympic champ <a href="https://twitter.com/De6rasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@De6rasse</a> 🥇jeez 🔥 See y’all in the relay 🇨🇦<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/EBwFk5Z1Hg">pic.twitter.com/EBwFk5Z1Hg</a>
—@KingsleySC

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.