3 Years After Giving Up on Olympics, Andre deGrasse’s Wife Makes Strong Semi-Final Comeback

Jan 27, 2024 | 6:12 AM EST

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The highly anticipated World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Astana Meet has kicked off spectacularly at the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan. Nia Ali, the renowned American Olympic medalist, and wife of the iconic André deGrasse, has made a remarkable comeback. Nia is a successful athlete and a mom to three kids named Yuri, Titus, and Kenzo. Now, at 35 years old and with three kids, she’s still dominating in her field.

While other top American track and field stars were striving to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, Nia Ali was at home in Jacksonville, spending time with her 5-week-old son. But as the 2024 Paris Olympics draw near and the Olympic year begins in full swing, Nia Ali is making waves at the Astana Meet.

Nia Ali makes a stellar comeback at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour in Astana

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In the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour semi-finals, Nia Ali showcased her stellar talent by blazing through the 60-meter hurdles and leaving her seven other contenders trailing with an impressive time of 7.99 at the Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan.

She surged ahead and won the 60-meter hurdles. As she advances to the finals, where she is considered a favorite for gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Astana Meet, fans eagerly hope that her comeback proves to be worthwhile given the long journey she has faced for the past three years.

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Why did she not participate in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021?

Back in 2016, just a year after becoming a mom for the first time, she shocked everyone by winning a silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the Rio Olympics. She did it again after having her second child, winning a world title at the same event in 2019. Fast forward to 2020, when the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nia, who was the reigning world champion in the 100-meter hurdles, started losing hope that the Tokyo Olympics, initially postponed, would ever happen. Athletes couldn’t train as usual, and many were facing challenges. Nia Ali, who was 32 at the time, and her partner, Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, decided to make a big choice.

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They agreed to have a third child, even if it meant Nia Ali might miss out on the chance to go for Olympic gold in Tokyo. Nia Ali even shared at the time, “I thought it was a gamble worth taking.” The Tokyo Olympics did end up happening later in the summer, but Nia made peace with missing them. And now, at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Astana Meet, she is soaring with a stellar comeback, and fans hope she clinches gold in the finals and slowly makes her way to the Paris Olympics in 2024.

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