Canada’s Andre De Grasse rebounded from disappointment in the 100 metres with a solid showing in the men’s 200-metre heats on Monday at the Olympics at the Stade de France outside of Paris.
The reigning 200-metre Olympic champ advanced to the semifinals by rallying to finish second in his heat in 20.30 seconds. American Noah Lyles, who won gold in a photo finish in the 100 metres on Sunday, won the heat in 20.19 seconds.
The top three in each heat advanced to the semifinals.
“I was just trying to play it safe, just trying to qualify,” De Grasse told CBC Olympics.
De Grasse overtook two runners after the turn to get into a semifinal spot.
The Canadian, 29, was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100 metres on Sunday, marking the first time he had not reached the podium in seven career Olympic events..
The 200-metre semifinals are Wednesday and the final is Thursday.
“I just go back and get some rest, some recovery,” De Grasse said. “Just trying to make sure I’m mentally focused and ready for the challenge ahead.”
De Grasse’s season-best time in the 200 is 19.98 seconds, good for only 17th in the world entering Paris.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s Brendon Rodney finished one-hundredth of a second back of third in his heat and will have to race in the repechage round on Tuesday. Rodney had the misfortune of being in a fast heat as he finished with the same time as De Grasse.
Toronto’s Aaron Brown also is heading to the repechage after finishing fourth in his heat.
In the women’s 200-metres, Gatineau’s Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., finished sixth in her heat in a time of 22.68 and will have to go to the repechage.
De Grasse was eliminated in the semifinals of the men’s 100 metres on Sunday.
De Grasse, 29, was fifth in his 100-metre heat and 12th overall in a season-best 9.98 seconds, with only the top two in each heat and the next two best times advancing to the final. He was .05 seconds back of the eighth spot.
The native of Markham, Ont., barely qualified for the semis, taking the third and final spot in his opening heat at 10.07 seconds.