Canada’s De Grasse opens outdoor season with a solid, but wind-aided, 9.99

GAINSVILLE, Fla. – Canadian sprint star Andre De Grasse opened his outdoor season in quick fashion Friday.

The 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., ran a wind-aided 9.99 seconds to win the 100 metres at the Florida Relays.

“Solid start to the season for Andre,” his coach Stuart McMillan said. “Training has been going well, and we are now looking forward to jumping in a few local meets, before the international season begins.”

The wind was measured at 3.3 metres per second — anything under 2.0 is legal.

Akeem Haynes of Calgary was sixth in 10.19, with a 2.6 wind.

De Grasse is coming off a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win double gold in the 100 and 200 metres at both the NCAA championships and Pan American Games. He capped his season with a bronze in both the 100 metres and 4×100 relay at the world championships.

He also became just the third Canadian in history to run a sub-10 100, after Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin. Ben Johnson’s times were erased from the record books after his positive doping tests.