PARIS — The world’s fastest man and Olympic sprint relay gold go together like track and field. Think Usain Bolt and Jamaica, Lamont Jacobs and Italy, Carl Lewis and the U.S.
, Donovan Bailey and Canada. And then take a moment to appreciate what this Canadian men’s 4×100-metre relay team pulled off at Stade de France on Friday, mining glittering gold despite not having qualified a single one of them for the 100-metre final. They are fast men, just not the fastest on the planet.
Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney weren’t even in the 100-metre field. Aaron Brown never managed a single legal stride toward the finish line, having been DQ’d in the first round for a false start. And Andre De Grasse? Good grief the man had himself some Olympic-sized drama.
His coach Rana Reider was booted from the Games, and De Grasse tweaked a hamstring and wasn’t close to competitive in either the 100m or in his effort at defending Tokyo gold in the 200m. And yet, there they were, wrapped in the Maple Leaf, ringing the track-side victory bell, celebrating one of the least likely gold medals ever. Before Friday, the Olympic men’s 4×100 metre relay had been held 25 times, and 15 of those finals were won by the country that also boasted the winner of the men’s 100 metres.
What’s more, only three of those 25 races were won by a country that didn’t have a single athlete in the 100-metre final. The Brits turned that improbable trick at Athens 2004 and Stockholm 1912, the Soviets at Seo.