The Toronto Argonauts paid tribute to the most decorated track athlete in Canadian history on Saturday night.
After quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson connected with Mississauga native Juwan Brescacin for the first touchdown of the Argos’ 2021 season, the entire group of receivers lined up in the end zone at McMahon Stadium and took off out of the blocks.
The celebration was inspired by sprint star Andre De Grasse. He’s from the Greater Toronto Area, born in Scarborough and raised in Markham. The 26-year-old two-time Olympian has medalled in all six events he’s participated in.
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, De Grasse won silver in the men’s 200-metre race, bronze in the 100-metre race and bronze in the 4×100-metre relay.
The triple medal threat captured gold in the 200-metre race at the Tokyo games, setting a Canadian record in the process with a time of 19.62 seconds. The five-foot-ten, 155-pound speed demon earned bronze in the 100-metre race with a personal-best time of 9.89 seconds.
In the the 4×100-metre relay, he was handed the baton in fifth place and took off to cross the finish line in third. The foursome produced a season-best time of 37.70 seconds to claim bronze.
De Grasse has the most medals of any Canadian male in Olympic history — six — while the Argos work to create the same amount of excitement in The Six about the 2021 edition of the Double Blue.
