By Gerald V. Paul

Canadian Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse was honoured on Sunday by the City of Markham with a grand Homecoming celebration at which an announcement  was made by Mayor Frank Scarpitti that a street will be named after him.

Wearing his three Rio Olympic  medals , De Grasse, a resident of Markham, rode on top of a parade vehicle with Mayor Scarpitti and his mother, Beverley, in the front seat  en route to the Pan Am Stadium.

“You make us all so proud,” said  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a message to De Grassed which was read at the stadium

In his address , Mayor Scarpitti  said that “Andre’s track accomplishments in less than three years is unprecedented,”. He commended Markham for producing 10 Olympic athletes.

De Grasse is the first Canadian to sprinter to win three medals in a single Olympics.

De Grasse, whose motto is to never let your success go to your head. Never let your failure go to your heart, is the only Canadian in Olympic history to win a medal in two solo sprint competitions.

De Grasse  spoke to media representatives who approached him for interviews and photographs

He said he would not be who he is without his mother and called her the “most import and person in my life.” He celebrated his mother’s birthday this week.

The former Milliken Mills High School student l, De Grasse, won silver medal in the 200m and bronze medals in both the 100m and 4 x 100 m relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

He  believes there is no short cuts to  perfection, but with precision, “your best is within reach. ”