TOKYO (Reuters) – Andre De Grasse of Canada won the men’s 200 metres gold at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday (Aug 4).
Trailing as he headed round the bend, De Grasse powered through in the last 50m to finish home in a new national record of 19.62sec.
Kenny Bednarek of the United States took the silver medal in 19.68 while his compatriot Noah Lyles (19.74) won the bronze.
The day’s action at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium also saw Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir winning the Olympic men’s 800 metres gold medal, extending the East African nation’s dominance of an event they have now won four times in a row.
His compatriot Ferguson Rotich took silver and Patryk Dobek of Poland claimed the bronze.
Kenya’s double Olympic gold medallist David Rudisha’s persistent injuries denied him the chance to defend his title, opening a path for a new champion to emerge and Korir powered his way to victory with a time of 1:45.06.
He spread his arms wide as he crossed the line as if to announce that he was ready to assume Rudisha’s mantle as king of the 800 metres.
Arriving in Japan boasting the second leading time of the year, Korir began the race fast, moving up to second behind Australia’s Peter Bol who set the early pace.
Korir accelerated with 200 metres left and surged to the line ahead of Rotich, who pushed hard in the last 50m to make it a Kenyan one-two as he clocked 1:45.23.
Dobek’s bronze was Poland’s first Olympic medal in the 800m and first medal in an individual running event since 1980.
