Olympic champion relay sprinters voted CP team of the year

Andre De Grasse watched Aaron Brown explode out of the blocks and round the corner with blazing speed.

Brown passed the baton to Jerome Blake, who sprinted down Lane 9 before Brendon Rodney kept the pace as he charged toward Canada's anchor at Stade de France.

"I've never seen those three guys ever run like that," De Grasse said. "They ran the race of their life."

De Grasse grabbed the final handoff — and the rest was history. While nursing a hamstring injury, the star sprinter powered the underdog Canadian men's 4x100-metre relay team across the finish line for an unexpected gold medal on Aug. 9 at the Paris Olympics.

"Those guys were in control of the race," coach Glenroy Gilbert said. "And once you put the stick in Andre's hands ... it's a no-brainer.

"There's no better guy with ice water in his veins to take the stick at the end."

The relay squad of Brown, Blake, Rodney and De Grasse ran away with The Canadian Press team of the year award for 2024 on Saturday.

WATCH l Canada's men's 4x100-metre relay team captures Olympic gold:

Canada's men's 4x100-metre relay team strikes gold in Paris

De Grasse tied swimmer Penny Oleksiak as Canada's most decorated Olympian with seven medals. The team's triumph also redeemed disappointing individual showings as all four sprinters failed to reach finals in Paris.

They received 37 of 53 votes from writers, broadcasters and editors across the country.

"Out of nowhere, the Canadian men's 4x100-metre relay team put together one of the most electrifying and stunning moments of any Olympic Games," said Todd Saelhof, sports editor at Postmedia Calgary.

The 1996 men's relay team headlined by Donovan Bailey is the only other track team to earn the honour since the award's inception in