Andre De Grasse made history at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Final in Eugene .

History was made at the 2023 Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday afternoon as Andre De Grasse became the first Canadian sprinter to win a Diamond League final, clocking a season’s best 19.76 seconds in the men’s 200 meter. Andre De Grasse, the reigning Olympic 200 meter champion, has had a rocky 2023 season in athletics and has faced a share of challenges, from a recurring foot injury to a change in coaching staff. This has been reflected in his times, which have stayed above his personal best and higher than the World Athletics qualifying standard in which he finished sixth-place at the world championships in August. He raced the 200 meter again six days later at the Diamond League meet in Zurich, finishing fifth in a packed field that included world champion Noah Lyles and silver medallist Erriyon Knighton. Without any Diamond League podiums in his signature 200 meter event, the Olympic champion is now hoping to change that at the last regular season stop in Brussels. Both USA sprinters Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton are missing in Brussels, so de Grasse's main competition is American Kenneth Bednarek and Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes. In Brussels Diamond League on September 8, 2023, Kenny Bednarek held off Hughes to claim victory with De Grasse clocking a season's best in third in men's 200 meter. The competition that was held in the King Baudouin Stadium, represented the last chance for the stars of track and field athletics to earn places in the Diamond League Finals. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion put an otherwise dull season behind him to take the men's 200 meter at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon that was held on September 17. De Grasse produced a storming run in his final race of the year to clock 19.76 seconds, the fourth-fastest time of his career, as he made history to become the first Canadian sprinter to win a Diamond League final. Bednarek ran a strong bend to lead from Knighton. But De Grasse shifted into a higher gear to surge past both Americans and win with ease. De Grasse got off to a great start and found himself level with Knighton and Bednarek coming out of the bend. De Grasse used his vintage 100 meter speed and created a gap in the final 50 meters to secure the 2023 Diamond League 200 meter title. Americans Kenny Bednarek (19.95 seconds) and Erriyon Knighton (19.97 seconds) placed second and third, respectively. The world championship gold medallist, Noah Lyles, did not compete in the 200 meter race, opting for the 100 meter on Saturday, where he finished second to Christian Coleman. This race is De Grasse’s fourth-fastest 200 meter time, and it shows that he’s back in his form and fitness and is a positive step forward as he looks ahead to 2024 with the aim of defending his Olympic 200 meter title. Source: Diamond League NBC Sports Olympics.com Inspiration by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS #DiamondLeagueEugene #AndreDeGrasse #PrefontaineClassic #Mens200m

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