Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse of Canada will not contest the 200m at the world track and field championships.
De Grasse, who said before the meet that he would be a game-time decision for the event, withdrew before Monday’s first round because he’s still recovering from a recent COVID-19 bout, according to Athletics Canada.
On Saturday, De Grasse was eliminated in the 100m semifinals at worlds in Eugene, Oregon, marking the first time in eight individual races between the Olympics and world championships that he did not earn a medal. Afterward, he was pessimistic about contesting the 200m.
“After that performance, it doesn’t look like it,” De Grasse told CBC. “We’ll see what happens, talk to my coach and kind of go from there.”
De Grasse still plans to run the 4x100m relay later this week, according to Athletics Canada.
At the Tokyo Olympics, De Grasse won the 200m in a Canadian record 19.62 seconds, which would rank third this year behind Americans Erriyon Knighton (19.49) and Noah Lyles (19.61).
De Grasse’s best 200m time in 2022 is 20.38, which ranks outside the top 70 men in the world this year.
De Grasse’s absence means that the Tokyo Olympic gold medalists in the men’s 100m, 200m and 400m all withdrew from their events at worlds.
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