SAINT-DENIS, France -- Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse said Wednesday night he'll have to "reevaluate" his coaching situation after the Olympics following the removal of his American coach, Rana Reider, from the Paris Games this week
Reider's credentials were revoked after the Canadian Olympic Committee said Monday that new information had come to light in the wake of an investigation into allegations Reider had committed sexual misconduct.
"Everything that happened ... it's kind of crazy," De Grasse told reporters Wednesday when asked about the situation. "I don't know what to think of it. I don't know. So I mean, I kind of just have to reevaluate after the Games, and keep my head and try to support the guys."
De Grasse, who won a gold medal in the 200 meters at the Tokyo Games, is one of two Olympic champions Reider had been coaching. Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs, who claimed gold in the 100 meters at that same Olympics, is the other.
Reider was investigated for alleged sexual misconduct by the U.S. Center for SafeSport and placed on a one-year probation that ended in May. He was accredited for the Summer Games through the Canadian Olympic Committee for his personal work with De Grasse.
"The decision to provide him with that access was based on the understanding that his probation with the U.S. Center for SafeSport ended in May this year, that he had no other suspensions or sanctions, and otherwise met our eligibility requirements," the Canadian Olympic Committee said earlier this week.
"On Sunday, August 4th, we learned of new information about the appropriateness of Mr. Reider remaining accredited by Team Canada at the Paris 2024 Games. In discussion with Athletics Canada, it was agreed that Mr. Reider's accreditation be revoked," the Canadian Olympic body added.
The Times of London reported Sunday about a lawsuit filed in Florida by athletes accusing Reider of misconduct. Reider's lawyer, Ryan Stevens, told The Guardian that Reider has no current sanctions against him and the complaints in the lawsuit were malicious.
Without Reider by his side, De Grasse failed to advance out of the 200-meter semifinal round Wednesday night. It means he won't have the opportunity to defend his Olympic gold in Thursday's final.
"I tried to keep my head and stay mentally strong," De Grasse said, "but of course that's always a tough one, not having your coach out there with you, who kind of leads you through these Games and been with all year."
When the initial investigation ensued and Reider was ultimately placed on probation, De Grasse left the coach.
But once the probationary period was over, De Grasse came back to him.
"It was just a confidence booster that I had with him," De Grasse said. "I won the Olympics with him, right? He's been my coach the past three years. I won a lot of world championship medals with him, Olympic medals. So I kind of went back thinking he can get me back to where I need to be.
"My federation, everybody said it was good to go, he was all cleared, they had given the accreditation. And then all of a sudden, I guess there was a new case. So I knew nothing about it. So kind of just sprung onto me the same time you guys knew. So of course that's a tough one to swallow, to just know about that right before you run. So pretty tough."
De Grasse finished third in his semifinal Wednesday with a time of 20.41 seconds. He said just after his opening-round 200-meter heat Monday that he realized he reaggravated a hamstring injury from last month.
"I thought it was just a little bit of soreness, and then later that day I got an ultrasound, it was really inflamed, the hamstring," De Grasse said. "So I said I could go: 'Give me some meds for the pain.' So I just tried to come out here [Wednesday] and see what I could do. But yeah, it was going to be really tough to try to come away with a fast time."
Although De Grasse ran a season-best 9.98 seconds in Sunday's 100-meter semifinal, it wasn't enough to advance into the electrifying final round that was won by American Noah Lyles .
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
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