Don't count out Andre De Grasse — and other lessons from this track and field season

This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.

The global track and field season effectively ended with this past weekend's Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon. While some notable events are coming up in the fall, such as the Pan Am Games in Chile, the top athletes from all around the world won't assemble like this again until next year.

So, what did we learn in 2023? Here are four Canadian takeaways as we head toward next summer's Olympic Games in Paris:

1. Never count out Andre De Grasse.

Slowed by assorted injuries, Canada's biggest track star struggled in his individual events after winning Olympic 200-metre gold in Tokyo two years ago. At last year's world championships in Eugene, he failed to get past the semifinals in the 100m and withdrew from the 200 to save his legs for the 4x100 relay. That decision paid off when De Grasse ran a blistering anchor leg to give Canada a surprising gold, but it ended his streak of seven straight medals in solo events at either the world championships or Olympics. 

At last month's worlds in Budapest, De Grasse placed sixth in the 200m and didn't compete in the 100 at all after failing to qualify. This time, there was no relay to fall back on after De Grasse sat out the qualifying round and his Canadian teammates failed to advance.

Coming out of the worlds, a lot of Canadian sports fans were asking "is De Grasse done?" And, with his 29th birthday coming up in November, there just wasn't much evidence to deny it.

Then, suddenly, vintage Andre resurfaced at the end of the Diamond League season. After breaking 20 seconds in the 200m for the first time in two years at the