Andre De Grasse Height, Weight, Body Measurements, Parents, Net Worth

Quick Facts

Andre De Grasse is the first Canadian sprinter to win three Olympic medals in a single Olympic event. This feat brought him into the limelight of the athletic world. His career dates back to his junior days in high school before his talent was discovered and properly groomed. Learn all about him here.

Bio of Andre De Grasse

De Grasse was born 10th November 1994 in Scarborough, Ontario to Beverley De Grasse (mother and former high school sprinter in Trinidad and Tobago) and Alexander Waithe (father, from Barbados). He had much of his growing up in Markham, Ontario and attended from kindergarten to his second grade at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic Elementary School in Scarborough before transferring to Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School in Markham.

While at Mother Teresa’s, in his grade eight, he won his first competitive race in 2006 before going to study at Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy and Milliken Mills High School. He continued racing more competitively here and was notable for wearing basketball shorts and converse shoes on the race track. Andre, in his first 100m race, secured the second position with an impressive time of 10.9 seconds and this led coach Tony Sharpe to take notice of him.

Continuing his education, he attended Coffeyville Community College in 2013 through 2014 before moving over to the University of Southern California in 2015.

Career – Amateur And Professional

Before 2015, Andre De Grasse was already a champion having won three gold medals at the 2013 Canada Games in the 100, 200 and 4*100 metre races.

In May 2015, he won the Pac-12 championship with a time of 9.97 seconds in the 100m race. This was the first time he ran 100meters under 10 seconds in his career. At the NCAA championships in 2015, he yet again, put in an impressive performance to win the 100m race, finishing in 9.75 seconds; the wind was +2.7 m/s. This made him the seventh fastest man in the world and of course, the fastest Canadian of all time.

Still, in the NCAA 2015 championship, he finished at an impressive 19.58 seconds in the 200 meters race which was nearly half a second faster to his personal best record just set four weeks earlier. He won a bronze medal in the 100 metres race with America’s Trayvon Bromell finishing at 9.92 seconds in the 2015 World Athletic Championship which took place in Beijing. Another bronze also came his way in what he described then as the biggest race of his life when he won bronze in the 4*100 meters relay race with a time of 38.13 seconds with team members; Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Justyn Warner.

At this time, he had started gaining attention from many big brands for sponsorship deals and this saw him signing with Puma for $11.25 million.

Coming down to the summer Olympic Games of 2016, in the 100 meters race, he came third behind faster Justin Gatlin and the fastest at 9.91 seconds. He became the first male athlete to win a medal for Canada at the games and with promises to do better in the rest of the finals ahead of him. Usain Bolt was very supportive of him as he was seen hugging him after the race and told reporters that he runs just like him, albeit a bit slower in the “blocks,” but once he gets going, he gets going pretty fast.

Andre De Grasse didn’t disappoint either in the rest of the games as he won a silver medal in the 200 meters final at 20.2 seconds and also got a bronze in the 4*100 meters relay after the American team that came third was disqualified for handing over the baton outside the zone, otherwise known as zone violation.

Days before 2017 Stockholm Diamond League World Athletic Championship, he strained his hamstring and was forced to pull out of the events. He got better pretty fast and we do hope to see him win more races as he progresses in his career.

Family: Parents

His parents were not originally Canadians. His mother moved to Cannada at the age of 26, while his father began residing in Canada from his teenage years. He can be said to have gotten his swift running genes from his mother who was formerly a high school sprinter in Trinidad and Tobago.

His parents, especially his mum are staunch Roman Catholic faithfuls and this had a great impact in shaping his younger life. He was raised together with his three siblings which include Julian and Dantee Waithe, brothers and Alexandra Waithe, Sister in Markham, Ontario.

Height, Weight, Body Measurements

The Athlete is shorter than most of the successful runners that have made their mark on the track. He stands at 5 feet 9 inches or 176 cm tall from the ground with a well-regulated body weight of 70 kg or 154 pounds.

Net Worth

Andre De Grasse is assumed to be a lot richer than he appears. His multi-year deal with Puma is worth about $11 million with bonuses reported to be about $30 million. His exact net worth is not known as there are conflicting reports from several sources. However, he is certainly rich and still being young, expect him to get even richer.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.