The Rio Olympics 200m silver medalist and Canadian 200m record holder Andre De Grasse is not finding the lockdown in his base in Florida funny; but he’s trying all he could to keep shape as a top athletes.
“It (training) doesn’t really consist of much because of the quarantine, basically just doing a lot of core, push ups, sit ups, pull ups, those type of things,” De Grasse said on Instagram Live with CBC on Saturday. “Of course I can go for a little jog around my block, so I usually try to jog to the mailbox, jog back, stuff like that.
“It’s pretty tough, but I try to stay somewhat in shape. I think everyone is in the same position, so you try to do what you can.”
The International Olympic Committee postponed the Olympics until 2021 last month, a decision De Grasse said he was “at peace with” when speaking to The Canadian Press after the announcement.
Although De Grasse is staying in shape during the pandemic, he says he is spending most of his extra time at home with his two kids.
“I would say from start to finish, I’m mostly with the kids trying to keep them occupied,” De Grasse said when describing his current daily routine. “I got a pool in the backyard, so they go swimming some days in the backyard. I teach them how to swim.”
Like most people right now, the majority of De Grasse’s time is being spent inside in an effort to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, but he has found ways to pass the time with his kids.
“I play puzzles with them, some board games, card games, just random stuff like that,” De Grasse said. “And of course when they’re watching Netflix or watching Disney Plus, that’s when I’m just chilling and watching the stuff with them. Yesterday they watched Frozen, this morning they were watching Lion King.”
With most of his daily schedule dedicated to his kids, De Grasse has to seize training opportunities whenever they present themselves.
“When they’re taking a nap, that’s when I try to do some training myself,” De Grasse said.
