Canada's Andre de Grasse wins 200, beating USA's Kenneth Bednarek, Noah Lyles: 'I shocked the world'

TOKYO — For both the past few years and the past few days, the focus in the men's 200-meter dash had always been on the Americans.

There was Noah Lyles, the reigning world champion, an effervescent and engaging personality who spoke openly about both his goal of winning three golds in Tokyo and his lifelong battles with anxiety and depression.

Then, more recently, some of the spotlight shifted toward Erriyon Knighton, the 17-year-old newcomer who had started breaking Usain Bolt's youth records.

Somehow, amid all the hype, a 26-year-old Canadian with seven Olympic and world championship medals managed to remain surprisingly overlooked — until Wednesday, that is.

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Andre de Grasse ran the fastest race of his life at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium to win the men's 200 in a time of 19.62 seconds — setting a new Canadian record, earning his first Olympic gold medal and speeding past the Americans who had, to that point, garnered so much of the attention.

"I want everybody to know: I shocked the world," de Grasse said. "I know everyone was saying that the Americans were going to win, but I came out here and (knew) this was my moment."

In a bit of a surprise, it was Kenneth Bednarek who led the way for Team USA, crossing the finish line in 19.68 to win silver in his first major international appearance.

Lyles followed close behind, in 19.74, to take bronze. And Knighton, the youngest male to compete for U.S. track and field at the Olympics since Jim Ryun in 1964, came fourth.

"It's just another sign that you can't take anything for granted," said Lyles, who entered Wednesday's race as the prohibitive favorite. "(The bronze medal) is nice to have. But I want more."

When asked how it felt to be an Olympic bronze medalist, he replied: "Boring."

The U.S. had loftier hopes for this event, and for the sprints as a whole. In the leadup to Tokyo, 100-meter sprinter Trayvon Bromell, 400-meter runner Michael Norman and Lyles were all considered the favorites in their respective events. Bromell did not qualify for the final. Norman will run for a medal Thursday.

In Bromell's absence, Fred Kerley — who previously ran the 400 — ran a personal best to win silver in the 100. And in the 200, Bednarek took a major step forward to win a silver of his own, shaving a tenth of a second of his previous personal best.

"I felt like I was a little bit overlooked," said Bednarek, who ran collegiately at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.

"I was running fast times in college and I just kind of wanted to be one of those people that people knew — that I was going to be a threat, a contender. I just kind of felt like I was disrespected. Now, hopefully I get my respect there."

The story Wednesday night, however, was de Grasse. For years, he had been the proverbial bridesmaid — a frequent presence on the podium, but never the guy standing at the top of it.

He won three medals at the Rio Olympics, often finishing behind Bolt, and four more at world championships. Earlier this week, he added to his medal haul with a bronze in the 100. But he hadn't won gold until Wednesday night.

"Winning bronze, winning silver — obviously I was young back then," de Grasse said. "Racing the GOAT, Usain. So of course, I was still proud of myself. I was still happy to be at my first Olympics and be in that moment. But I knew coming into my second Games like, I'm ready. I prepared for this."

Injuries hampered de Grasse in the years between those two Games. A hamstring injury kept him out of the 2017 world championships, then resurfaced in 2018. He said there were times when he relied on other people to believe in him, because he didn't believe in himself.

So, was it worth the wait?

"Definitely," de Grasse said.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Andre de Grasse beats Noah Lyles, Kenneth Bednarek in 200m at Olympics