Canada track star Andre De Grasse on the advice 'mentor' Usain Bolt shared, growing up alongside Warriors star Andrew Wiggins and how 'third time's a charm' as he heads to Paris 2024

Andre De Grasse is on a mission to win his second gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer.

The 29-year-old, who is the 'reigning champ' in the 200m dash, became the first Canadian to win a track event in 28 years at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

‘I’m feeling pretty good, I’m excited. I mean... third time’s a charm, that’s what they say... I’m excited to go to Paris and these Games, this time around,' De Grasse told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview, earlier this month.

'... I’m just pumped up.'

De Grasse burst onto the world stage when he finished third behind second place Justin Gatlin and Usain 'Lightning' Bolt in the 100m race at the 2016 Olympics.

His medal sparked much talk of him being Bolt's heir apparent in the athletics world, a claim that Bolt supported back then.

'He came through again. He's going to be good. he runs just like me, I mean, he's really slow at the blocks, but when he gets going, he gets going,’ Bolt said about De Grasse at the time.

In Rio, De Grasse also finished third while representing Canada in the 4x100m relay behind second place Japan and first place Jamaica.

He first met Bolt - the greatest of all time with eight record gold medals - in January 2016.

Roughly seven months later, the pair exchanged smiles and crossed the line in the 200m race, one of the most iconic moments of the games.

'One of the things that kind of just stood out to me with him was to see how much fun he had out there. How much he just kind of smiled and enjoyed the crowd,' De Grasse said of Bolt, who retired eight years ago.

He added that Bolt ‘would always just tell me "Stay focused. Remember your goals and what you want to accomplish. Avoid all distractions. Keep going.'''

De Grasse now wants to emulate his mentor's success and lead what he calls the 'new generation' of sprinters this summer.

De Grasse is also married to American hurdler Nia Ali. The couple share a daughter, Yuri, 4. DeGrasse also has a son, Titus, from a previous relationship, according to Sportsnet. 

'I just want to keep going out there, leave a mark in this sport, and create a legacy that people will look up to and be inspired by,' he said.

'So yeah, I gotta keep going until the wheels fall off, as they say...'

A consistent podium finisher since 2016, De Grasse also aims to compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where he raced for Southern California (USC). During his collegiate years, De Grasse broke the 200m Canadian record with a time of 20.05 secs.

'I think for me, I never liked to put a time limit or expiration on how many Olympics I can do. [...] I think my goal and objective is to make it to at least 2028 LA because I feel like that would be a full-circle moment for me,' he said.

'That’s where I kind of started my career.'

But, the Scarborough native didn't always compete in track, as there was a time when he played basketball against the likes of Golden State Warriors star Andre Wiggins, of the NBA.

'Yeah, Wiggins was one of the guys,' De Grasse - a Toronto Raptors fan - said.

'... It’s funny, I once kind of remembered a moment joking around with him back in high school when we played against each other.

'He was amazing in high school, dunking out at the gym, of course. We thought he was going to be the next big thing for sure, especially coming out of Canada, where you don’t see as many basketball players.

'But now, we’re starting to see it more and more with this new generation. We have some great players coming up.'