For Kelowna's Jerome Blake, 37.5 seconds changed his life.
On Friday, Aug. 9, Blake, along with teammates Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, and Andre De Grasse won the gold medal in the men's 4x100 relay at the 2024 Paris Olympic games.
"It's tremendous, I'm over the moon, I can't explain it. It's one of those things that just unforgettable," Blake told Black Press Media. "I've always dreamt of doing like this at this magnitude and doing it, it feels really good."
For Canada, it's their first gold in the men's 4x100 relay since 1996 in Atlanta.
In 2016, the 4x100 team which included Brown, Rodney, De Grasse and Akeem Haynes won bronze at the Olympics. In the 2020 games, Blake's first Olympics, they won silver. In 2024, they finally won gold, beating South Africa by 0.07 seconds.
"Every kid grows up dreaming of winning a gold medal, especially in a sport where the pinnacle is Olympic gold," said Blake. "For me, it's something that's unforgettable, that's for sure."
After winning gold, Blake got to celebrate with his teammates and his family, who were in attendance - his mom, dad, stepmom, and little sister. Blake said it was a lot of hugs and cheers, and then he went right to interviews, which he's had consistently since winning.
Blake also added it was fun being around so many people and fans who love the sport. However, he didn't get to take in any other events ongoing, just saw them on television.
Blake has a couple more races over the next month he's focusing on and will be coming home to Kelowna with his gold medal sometime in September.
