“Did you see me?” Andre De Grasse asked of his family, just after he won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Canada’s greatest sprinter, the first Canadian man since 1928 to get the 200-metre gold medal, ran a superb race against a stacked field, including his countryman Aaron Brown, who, after his race, finishing sixth, held up a photo of his family and said: “This is what I run for.”
De Grasse has many sponsors, including Puma and Endy, the Canadian mattress company who conducted this interview with De Grasse before he left for Tokyo. De Grasse has used Endy mattresses since 2019 and says sleep is an essential part of his training. Lots of lessons to be learned right here. This is an excerpt from their interview.
What are the top 3 things you need to ensure he has a restful sleep?
Andre De Grasse: A good meal, a dark room, and a comfortable, quality mattress that I can sink in to at the end of the day – I wouldn’t be able to train as hard as I do without getting a full night of sleep on my Endy mattress.
What are your favourite bedside table products?
I always need a glass of water on my nightstand, plus an essential oil diffuser to help me focus in the morning and zen out at night.
What’s your go-to breakfast?
Cheerios, and again, a big glass of water!
Coffee or tea?
Neither. Hot chocolate.
Early-riser or hit the snooze?
Hit the snooze.
Meditation or get moving?
Meditation.
Check emails/phone or quiet time?
Check emails.
There’s lots left in this Olympics, including the marathon, where we’re all rooting for the Canadian athletes, and the decathlon, where Damian Warner currently sits in first place. We’re rooting for Gabriela Debues-Stafford, who runs the 1500-metre on Friday morning, and we’re rooting for all of the athletes from all of the countries, and we’re also rooting for you, with whatever you’re training for and whenever you race next.
But this moment, right now, belongs to Andre. Well done, sir. You make all of us, every runner in this country, proud.
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My wife and I bought an Endy and would not change it for the world. Nice to see Andre Degrasse uses it too