 Weekend recap: Andre De Grasse starts strong | | | The country's biggest track star kicked off his season, a top thrower reached the podium and a marathon record holder failed to qualify for the Olympics. Here's a look at the most notable results for Canada's Summer Olympic athletes over the weekend:
Andre De Grasse won his first two races of the season.
After doing a few indoor 60m events over the winter, the reigning Olympic 200m champion opened his outdoor campaign at the East Coast Relays in Jacksonville, Fla., where he lives and trains.
On Friday night, De Grasse ran a wind-aided 20.11 seconds in the 200m. That was the fastest time among all 15 heats, though the competition wasn't very stiff.
On Saturday, De Grasse clocked a wind-legal 10.11 in the 100m to clip reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy in a photo finish for the fastest overall time. Two-time world championship bronze medallist Trayvon Bromell was third in 10.14. De Grasse, Jacobs and Bromell train together in Jacksonville under coach Rana Reider.
De Grasse struggled for much of the past two seasons before winning the 200m at the Diamond League Final last September in 19.76 — his best time since 2021. The six-time Olympic medallist has set his sights high for this year, aiming to reach the podium in the 100, 200 and 4x100 for the third consecutive Summer Games and even break the Canadian 100m record of 9.84 seconds shared by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin.
It's hard to gauge De Grasse's 200m performance on Friday because of the strong tailwind. But his 10.11 in the 100 was his best time in nearly two years. He'll still need to get down to 10 seconds to qualify for the Olympics in the 100 (he's already met the 200 standard), but this was a good start.
De Grasse is expected to compete in the 4x100 at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas this weekend.
Sarah Mitton took silver in the Diamond League.
After placing fourth in a stacked season opener two weekends ago in Xiamen, China, Canada's top shot putter improved to second at Saturday's meet near Shanghai. Mitton, the silver medallist at last year's world championships, finished behind back-to-back worlds gold medallist Chase Jackson of the United States. Reigning Olympic champ Gong Lijiao of China was fourth after winning the opener.
Mitton, who beat Jackson to capture the indoor world title last month, was happy with the result despite feeling "disconnected" in her first two outdoor events of the season. "It's early in the season and some of the technical pieces of my throw are still a work in progress," she said.
The only other Canadian in the meet was women's steeplechaser Regan Yee, who finished ninth after placing eighth the week before. She needs to lower her time by a few seconds to reach the Olympic standard.
International standouts included Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who won for the second straight week after breaking his own world record in Xiamen; and South African sprinter Akani Simbine, who won the men's 100m in 10.01 to beat former world champions Christian Coleman (10.04) and Fred Kerley (10.11) of the United States.
Reigning women's 100m world champion and 200m bronze medallist Sha'Carri Richardson suffered her second consecutive upset in the 200. In Xiamen, the American star finished second behind Australian teenager Torrie Lewis. This time, she was third behind winner Daryll Neita of Great Britain.
Read more about the Shanghai meet in this story by CBC Sports' Doug Harrison. The next Diamond League stop is May 10 in Doha.
Natasha Wodak missed out on the Olympics.
With her qualifying window about to close, the Canadian women's marathon record holder's last chance to earn a spot in Paris was Sunday in Hamburg. Needing a time of two hours, 26 minutes, 50 seconds (about 3½ minutes off her Canadian record of 2:23:12), Wodak could muster only a 2:30:24 as quad and abdominal issues derailed her run.
"That's marathoning for you," Wodak said. "This sport can be amazing but also cruel." Very cruel: the Olympic qualifying window opened just five weeks after Wodak broke her friend Malindi Elmore's Canadian record in September 2022 in Berlin. Elmore, 44, is the only Canadian women's marathoner who has met the Paris qualifying standard.
Canadian men's marathon record holder Cam Levins will also be going to Paris. He came within 20 seconds of his own national half-marathon record on Sunday, clocking 1:00:38 seconds to finish eighth in his race in Turkey.
Other top Canadian results from the weekend:
* Golfers Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin teamed up for a 10th-place finish at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a two-man event won by Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Ireland's Shane Lowry. Taylor, ranked 27th in the world, and Hadwin, ranked 48th, have been pals since they were kids in Abbotsford, B.C. They're on track to grab Canada's likely two entries in this summer's Olympic men's tournament, but 51st-ranked Corey Conners is not far behind Hadwin with about a month and a half left in the qualifying window. Conners and fellow Canadian Taylor Pendrith tied for 11th at the Zurich Classic.
* Judokas Shady Elnahas and Arthur Margelidon won gold while top-ranked Christa Deguchi was also among the Canadian medallists at the Pan American and Oceania Championships in Brazil. Deguchi, ranked No. 1 in the world in the women's 57kg weight class, took silver after losing her final to former Olympic champion Rafaela Silva of Brazil. Margelidon is ranked seventh in the men's 73kg class while Elnahas is fifth in the men's 100kg. | | |  | Andre De Grasse, seen here at last year's Canadian championships, began his 2024 outdoor season with a pair of wins in Jacksonville, Fla. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) | | | Quickly… | | | Some other things to know:
1. Two Canadian teams are up and two are down in the NHL playoffs.
Edmonton and Vancouver each took a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series on Sunday. The Oilers followed up their 6-1 blowout of the Kings on Friday with a 1-0 shutout and can wrap up the series back at home on Wednesday night. The Canucks can finish off Nashville at home on Tuesday night after subduing the Predators 2-1 on Friday and 4-3 in overtime yesterday. Third-string goalie Arturs Silovs made 27 saves in his playoff debut after Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko and backup Casey DeSmith went down with injuries after winning, respectively, Game 1 and Game 3.
Winnipeg's Vezina finalist, Connor Hellebuyck, seems unable to stop the powerful Colorado Avalanche, who are averaging close to six goals per game after pounding the Jets 5-1 yesterday to go up 3-1 in their series. The Jets will be fighting for their playoff lives on Tuesday night at home.
The situation looks even more dire for Toronto, which is on the brink of another disappointing playoff exit following Saturday night's 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, who lead the series by the same score. Leafs star William Nylander finally appeared after missing the first three games, reportedly due to migraines, but 69-goal man Auston Matthews did not come out for the third period due to what the team says is an illness (you never know for sure in the NHL playoffs). Coach Sheldon Keefe said today that Matthews' availability for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Boston is "yet to be determined."
The Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers are the first team through to the second round after sweeping Washington yesterday. Alex Ovechkin finished with zero points in the four-game series and managed only six shots on net.
Tonight, Florida can eliminate Tampa Bay in five games, while Stanley Cup champion Vegas leads West top seed Dallas 2-1 heading into Game 4 of their series.
2. Canadian NBA stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray can advance to the second round tonight.
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder can complete a sweep of New Orleans after their 106-85 win on Saturday. SGA scored a team-high 24 points and fellow Canadian guard Lu Dort chipped in 12 for the Western Conference's top seed.
Jamal Murray and the defending-champion Denver Nuggets failed to sweep the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night as Murray had 22 points on an errant 9-of-23 shooting. They can finish off LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company tonight back in Denver.
Canadian Andrew Nembhard and the Indiana Pacers went up 3-1 on the wounded Milwaukee Bucks yesterday as Nembhard had 15 points and a team-high nine assists. Milwaukee stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and Damian Lillard (Achilles) missed the game due to injuries and could remain out for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Last night, Minnesota earned its first playoff series win in 20 years by sweeping Phoenix and its supposed Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Timberwolves rising star Anthony Edwards scored 31 of his team-high 40 points in the second half.
3. Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the fourth round of the Madrid Open.
The world's 35th-ranked men's tennis player (down from a career-high sixth last year), walked into the round of 16 at the prestigious clay-court event when his opponent, 74th-ranked Jakub Mensik, retired from today's match. Auger-Aliassime was leading 6-0, 1-0 at the time. He'll now face No. 5 seed Casper Ruud of Norway.
Auger-Aliassime is the only Canadian singles player left in the Madrid Open, a big-money tuneup for next month's French Open. Denis Shapovalov and Leylah Fernandez — both, like Felix, unseeded — lost in their round of 32 over the weekend. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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