Notable quotes from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Aug. 4, 2021

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This article was published 04/08/2021 (1545 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Here are some notable quotes from Canadians and other athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Aug. 4, 2021.

“I always felt like I came up for short winning bronze and silver, so it’s just good to just have that gold medal. No one can take that away from me.”

Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, who won his fifth Olympic medal, but his first gold, in the men’s 200 metres.——

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to do the long break within the decathlon. But at the same time, I can’t really complain. I’ve had a couple of really awesome events today and beggars can’t be choosers. (I’m) just happy with how the start went.”

— Decathlete Damian Warner of London, Ont., who leads after five events. Warner finished first in both the 100 metres and the long jump to start the day, but had to wait a while before the fourth and fifth events.

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“I’ll probably go bang some drivers, get some tension out. I do a journal so I’ll go through the holes and write down what I did well on each hole and that will make that go away.”

— Golfer Alena Sharp on how to put a bad round of golf behind her. The Hamilton native shot a 3-over 74 in the opening round of women’s golf at the Tokyo Olympics.

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“Honestly, most of them seem to be fine. I’ve had a lot people tell me they were happy I was here. For sure, there are some who — I don’t know if they’re frustrated or just focused on themselves, but who would not talk to me. But you know what? I proved that I could be here. I did everything in the past two years to be here. I think I deserve to be here, so if people are mad, there’s nothing I can do.”

— Canoe sprinter Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, on returning to the sport following a failed drug test in 2019. She was cleared to compete in January 2020 when the International Canoe Federation accepted she was the victim of third-party contamination.

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“There were a lot of moments of doubt this year about whether I could regain that 2019 fitness, and I’m back, if not better, so I’m really stoked.”

— Toronto’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford on qualifying for the 1,500-metre final with a third-place finish in her heat. Her sister Lucia finished sixth in a different heat.

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“It’s a dream. I mean, the fact that I can walk away disappointed about not being in that final. If you told me that going in, I wouldn’t have believed you, so the fact that I was that close was unbelievable, and I’m really, really proud of myself.”

— Toronto’s Lucia Stafford after her 1,500-metre semifinal. Stafford finished 6th, just missing the final, but ran a personal-best time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2021.