It's been a rough year for De Grasse as he had mono in the winter and has had hamstring issues. I'm hoping De Grasse can get back to his best next year, but you never know with sprinters. Three years ago, it looked like De Grasse and Trayvon Bromell were the next big thing. Now that may not be the case. The good news is De Grasse is still only 23. He was exceptional in 2016 (Olympic bronze in 100 and 4x100, Olympic silver in 200) and was really rounding into form in 2017 with three straight Diamond League wins before an injury kept him out of Worlds. Here's the release we received from his agency, Doyle Management.
Doyle Management wrote:
Andre De Grasse to end season
This past Saturday while running the 200m semi-final at the Canadian Athletics Championships, Andre caught a cramp in his hamstring preventing him from finishing the race. Sunday, MRI scans revealed a minor grade 1 strain in the Biceps Femoris. A minor injury, but enough to end what has been a rather tumultuous year for De Grasse.
“2018 will always be the year I look back at fondly as the year my Daughter came into the World” Said Andre De Grasse, whose girlfriend gave birth to their daughter Yuri on June 22nd.
Alternatively, the 2018 season on the track will be one that will easily be forgotten for De Grasse as he seemed to face adversity at every turn. The season began with recovery from a different hamstring injury that caused a withdrawal from the 2017 World Championships. Shortly after, De Grasse had been feeling a lack of energy and was not training well. Later it was revealed that he was recovering from a bout of Mononucleosis that he had suffered from possibly as far back as December of 2017. The now diagnosed illness explained why he had started the season poorly on the Diamond League circuit. A mid-season attempt to reboot things and get back into focused training over a 6-week lay-off brought Andre to the Harry Jerome Classic and the Canadian championships. At these meets, performance was down but was starting to look up. A decent run in the 100m final at the Canadian Championships set him up to be a likely favorite for Saturday’s 200m final. It was looking like it would go that way until 50m to go in the 200m semi-final when Andre’s hamstring cramped up ultimately causing the end of his season.
De Grasse remains positive despite these set-backs. “I never want to hit the track and put out a performance that is less than my best, but if it has to happen, this is the year for it to happen.” The 2018 season includes no global championship for De Grasse, whereas the following three years include two World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics. “I believe the issues I’ve faced these past 12 months have made me hungrier. I will heal quickly from this injury. I will go be with my daughter and focus on being a dad for the next few weeks as I heal, and I will plan to come back stronger than ever.”