'Maybe one day I will try a marathon': Seven-time Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse

Seven-time Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse doesn’t look like a man built for patience. Everything about him, the broad shoulders, the relaxed swagger, the coiled calm in his movements, suggests someone designed for explosive moments rather than long, grinding ones. The braided hair frames a face that has seen Olympic podiums and world championship tracks, but in person, the Canadian sprinter carries himself with an ease that feels almost unhurried.

Perhaps that’s the paradox of elite speed. The fastest men in the world often move slowly off the track. In Mumbai, ahead of his first close association with India’s biggest marathon, the Tata Mumbai Marathon, De Grasse was visibly taking it all in. The scale of the event intrigued him, more than 65,000 runners, thousands of stories, one long road stretching across the city. “I’ve always wanted to experience a big international marathon,” he said. “And I heard Mumbai is one of the biggest. Plus, it’s my first time in India, so it felt like the right moment.”

For someone whose career has been defined by races lasting under 20 seconds, the marathon sits at the opposite end of the athletic spectrum. Sprinting is about instant power, precision, and controlled violence. Marathon running is about restraint, rhythm, and survival. Yet, despite the contrast, De Grasse believes the two disciplines quietly borrow from each other. Sprinters, he admits, could learn a great deal from marathon runners, particularly when it comes to fitness.

“Before we even sprint, we have to work on our fitness,” he said. “That’s how you stay healthy and avoid injuries. Breathing, pacing, staying efficient, those are things marathon runners do extremely well.”

Also Read: MS Dhoni extends support to Pune Grand Tour 2026 as Goodwill Ambassador

Speed, in contrast, plays a subtler role in endurance running. Marathoners don’t chase maximum velocity; they chase control. Knowing when not to push can matter more than knowing how fast you can go. That understanding doesn’t come naturally to a sprinter. De Grasse laughed when asked about his own experiments with long distance. “I’ve only ever raced up to 800 metres,” he said. “If you even count that as long distance.” In training, though, he has flirted with endurance — albeit in a very sprinter-specific way. “I’ve gone up to about two miles, but in intervals,” he explained. “Broken down: 400s, 300s, 200s. By the end of a workout, it adds up.” An actual long-distance race, however, remains unexplored territory. “Maybe one day I’ll try a marathon,” he said, smiling. “We’ll see.”

That openness reflects where De Grasse is in his career: experienced, reflective, but still competitive. Having won Olympic bronze twice in the 100 metres and gold in the 200, he has little left to prove. Yet the hunger hasn’t entirely faded. The road to LA 2028 is still very much on his mind. “I want to do one more Olympics,” he said. “That would be special, close to home. But I still have to qualify like everyone else.”

He speaks about the future without bravado, aware of how quickly athletics evolves. Rivalries shift, new names emerge, and technology advances. Shoes get faster, tracks get quicker, margins get thinner. For De Grasse, evolution is inevitable, and mostly welcome. “We want better performances,” he said. “Technology changes everything else in our lives. As long as we’re careful about injuries, it’s good for the sport.”

In Mumbai, surrounded by runners preparing for a challenge that lasts hours rather than seconds, De Grasse seemed comfortable being the outsider, the sprinter observing endurance. Speed brought him here, but curiosity kept him engaged. And somewhere between the 100 metres and 42.195 kilometres, he appeared to recognise a simple truth: no matter the distance, the road always teaches you something.