The wonderful thing about covering the news is that truly inspirational events can come out of nowhere. These are times that elevate our minds and spirits and wipe away the cheap cynicism this business so easily and often engenders as we witness the shamelessly self-serving nature of human discourse.
Such a moment came Wednesday night at the feet of a previously little-known 20-year-old from Markham, Ont. when Andre De Grasse showed the world, really, that he was the fastest runner at this competition before a hometown crowd at the Pan Am Games. As Canadians, at a time when our general currency in the world has seldom been lower on many fronts, we should all rejoice in this simplest, but most difficult of achievements in the 100-metre final, the marquis event at any track meet. He wasn’t the biggest runner in the field, certainly not the fastest out of the blocks – and some of the sport’s biggest names did not compete at this meet – but with his pistons pumping like machines, he pulled ahead of the impressive pack to set a time of 10.05 seconds to win the gold. Running in the 200-metre Friday he repeated gold with a record-setting run. True, it is still ludicrous to think De Grasse has reached the Olympian stature of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt – the running superstar absent at these games but whom he may encounter at the upcoming World Championships and 2016 Olympics – but he is already being compared to the revered Donovan Bailey and rumour has it a seven-figure shoe deal is in the works. As Canadians, we should celebrate De Grasse’s achievement. We have a star – and a polite star at that. One who admits he was headed toward an unfocused life of trouble before running turned him around. And one who never felt the need to embarrassingly gloat over his victory as is the unpleasant fashion among so many other athletes striving so hard to create a brand of themselves.
For a few days we should be allowed to feel good. Really good. And not only for De Grasse, but for all of the athletes who have done Canada proud. Remember, only two weeks ago as they began, these games were derided by many media outlets as somehow lacklustre because of poor advance ticket sales. But with a medal count now including 70 golds among the 188 (at press time) Canadians have achieved – and second only to the U.S. team – Canada’s young athletes have turned that perception around. That 187 is 27 more than the 160 Canada’s team predicted it would get. They have made us proud.
As did one athlete from St. Albert who should also be mentioned. Gymnast and Paul Kane high school alumnus Marisa Dick came in 14th all-around in gymnastics artistic (Canadian Ellie Black took gold) competing for Trinidad and Tobago, her mother’s country of origin. That is a wonderful achievement. She has competed for the Caribbean country for years, though she trained in Edmonton. (See full story in Sports, page 40.)
Let’s hope these memories last a while. In a few weeks, the instant gratification of the modern news cycle will have relegated the 2015 Pan Am games to its dust-bin. When we return to this summer of discontent with the day-to-day reportage of low energy prices and a rather moribund field of federal political leaders seeking our votes as Canada teeters on recession, let’s remember De Grasse’s one brief moment of shining achievement, both on and off the field. When a regular Canadian did his best and won with mature dignity without acting like a spoiled and arrogant Trump-like child. That memory may well stave off the creeping cynicism this business can bring.
