De Grasse, Brown, Blake sprint into 200-metre semifinals in Tokyo

By Canadian Press on September 17, 2025.

TOKYO — Canadian sprinters Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake qualified for the men’s 200-metre semifinal through Wednesday’s heats at the 2025 world athletics championships.

The Canadians did not finish in the top three in their respective heats and earn automatic qualification, and had to endure some nervous minutes as they waited to see if they would move on by having one of the six next-fastest times.

De Grasse, from Markham, Ont., ended up with the second-fastest time outside automatic qualification at 20.3 seconds after the 2021 Olympic champion finished fourth in a heat that included American star Noah Lyles.

Brown finished fifth in his heat at 20.33 seconds. The Toronto sprinter still qualified by placing well in a fast heat that featured two runners — Tapiwanashe Makarawu of Zimbabwe and Courtney Lindsey of the United States — posting times under 20 seconds.

Blake, from Kelowna, B.C., took the last spot in Thursday’s semifinal after finishing fifth in his heat at 20.43 seconds.

Jamaica’s Bryan Levell had the top qualifying time in 19.84 seconds, followed by Makarawu (19.91) and Lindsey (19.95).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press