PARIS: Canada secured its first track gold medal at the Paris Olympics by winning the men’s 4x100m relay final on Friday, Xinhua reported.
Andre De Grasse held off a challenge from South Africa’s Akani Simbine in the final leg as he combined with Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney to finish in 37.50 seconds.
South Africa took silver in 37.57, and Britain bronze in 37.61.
“It feels pretty amazing,“ De Grasse said. “To be out with these guys, my brothers, I’ve been with them since the beginning of time, so it’s amazing. We talked about this moment for years. It feels good to bring it to fruition. I’m super grateful.”
Brown added, “Individuals didn’t go our way, but when we come together, we’re a real strong team. You can never count us out, we feel great.”
Canada’s triumph marked an upgrade from their silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The United States’ recent struggles in this event continued, as they were disqualified for a first changeover outside the box.
