In a shocking flip of occasions, Canadian dash star Andre De Grasse will reunite along with his controversial former coach, Rana Reider, simply 9 months earlier than the beginning of the 2024 Paris Olympics. De Grasse is coming off his quickest 200m time in two years (19.76) and a Diamond League title to finish the 2023 season.
The transfer again to Reider marks a big swap in De Grasse’s profession, because the American coach, primarily based in Jacksonville, Fla., who beforehand guided him from 2018 to 2022, is serving a one-year probation from U.S. SafeSport for having a relationship with an 18-year-old athlete.
Reider’s probation standing permits him to proceed teaching elite sprinters, together with notable names just like the reigning Olympic champion, Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, who determined to be a part of Reider’s group final month, and American Trayvon Bromell. His affiliation with disgraced Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare, who obtained an 11-year doping ban in 2022, additionally introduced scrutiny.
When De Grasse gained gold within the 200m together with two different medals within the 100m and relay on the Tokyo Olympics, he was coaching with Reider.
De Grasse revealed to CBC Sports that the choice was influenced by his companion U.S. 100m hurdler Nia Ali and was pushed by the need to create a greater surroundings for his or her youngsters, together with entry to higher colleges and extracurricular actions within the Jacksonville space, in contrast to their earlier location in Orlando. The 28-year-old sprinter emphasised that the “distractions” from the earlier season have been resolved, and that he loved his first coaching session again with Reider’s Tumbleweed Track Club.
In an interview with CBC Sports, De Grasse’s now former coach, Ireland’s John Coghlan, expressed no exhausting emotions concerning his determination, acknowledging that it’s widespread for athletes to search familiarity and previous successes with their former coaches. He additionally emphasised that the change was made on good phrases.
In a current chat with Canadian Running about his new e book, Ignite, De Grasse opened up about his unfinished enterprise on the monitor. He spoke about wanting to break the Canadian 100m report of 9.84 held by Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin, and his ambition to win three golds within the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay on the Paris Olympics.
Athletics Canada launched a press release to Canadian Running in response to his teaching change, confirming that they’re conscious of the change after suspending funds to Reider for his work with Canadian athletes in Nov. 2021. “De Grasse is working personally with Rana Reider who has been cleared to coach. There is at the moment no formal relationship between Athletics Canada and Reider. We aren’t paying him, and he isn’t employed by Athletics Canada.”
The nationwide sporting group additionally emphasised the significance of background screening and SafeSport coaching for all coaches collaborating in Athletics Canada’s official occasions and coaching camps.