De Grasse looks to get season back on track at Bislett Games after sensational Olympics

A month from the world athletics championships, some would say it's time defending bronze medallist Andre De Grasse made a statement on the track.

Canadian fans are anxious for the sprinter to regain his Olympic form from last Aug. 1 in Tokyo that led to a second consecutive 100-metre bronze medal in a personal-best 9.89 seconds. De Grasse hasn't run under 10 seconds in his past four races dating to the Diamond League Final on Sept. 9 in Zurich, where he clocked 9.89 to place second.

"The heights of Tokyo haven't been maintained, so far," Diamond League commentator/analyst Chris Dennis said this week before travelling to France to work the Meeting de Paris competition on Saturday. "He's gotta start putting in a sub-10 performance, and maybe start getting in the top-two of these races.

"Otherwise, it feels he's leaving it late to run himself into some sort of form at world championships [in Eugene, Ore.] where you know the field is going to be stacked."

De Grasse will race the 100 for only the fourth time this season on Thursday at 2:39 p.m. ET at the Bislett Games Diamond League event in Oslo, Norway.

Former African record holder Akani Simbine (9.84 PB) and Reece Prescod of Great Britain, who won in 9.93 at the Otrava Golden Spike last month in the Czech Republic, will probably provide the toughest competition. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

The 27-year-old De Grasse opened his season in the distance on April 30 with a wind-assisted 10.07 performance near his home in Jacksonville, Fla. His Diamond League season debut followed three weeks later in Birmingham, England, where he placed fourth in 10.24, one week before De Grasse's last-place finish in 10.21 as part of a loaded