Andre De Grasse's mother says his Olympic success is no surprise to her

She's as proud as he is fast.

Beverley De Grasse watched with delight as her son, Andre De Grasse, raced to a silver medal in last night's 200-metre final, clocking a time of 20.02 seconds. Usain Bolt for now the greatest sprinter on Earth was the only man who was faster.

• 'I am the greatest,' Usain Bolt proclaims after winning 200-m gold

• Andre De Grasse wants to win gold now

Beverley De Grasse was in the stadium to watch every step. And while Canadians everywhere were filled with nerves, she was confident her son would reach the podium.

"I knew if he didn't get gold it was going to be a silver," she told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

"It just felt so right."

After the race, Jamaica's Bolt who ran the final in 19.78 seconds into a slight headwind remained the king of sprinting.

But De Grasse, 21, from Markham, Ont., has positioned himself as the heir apparent at least in the 200-metre event, where he can overcome a relatively slow start, hit top speed and hold it while his competitors break down.

At his first Olympics, De Grasse now has a bronze and silver, with the chance of another medal coming in a relay later Friday.

Not bad for someone who didn't pick up the sport until 2012, when Bolt was racing to gold at the London Games.

Conventional sprinters'wisdom, according to former gold medallist Donovan Bailey, is that you need to go to at least one Olympics before you can medal. But Beverley De Grasse said her son had no time for that approach. "Why wait for 2020?" she remembers him saying.

"He's always been like that he's always had that confidence coming into competition," she said, adding her son has an uncanny ability to find something extra when he needs it most.

"I'm so proud of him. I'm really, really proud of him."

Markham 'pumped' about silver medal

Markham gathers to watch hometown hero Andre De Grasse race the 200-metre

8 years ago

Duration 0:49

More than 200 fans in Markham, Ont. cheered wildly for hometown favourite Andre De Grasse as the sprinter raced across the finish line on Thursday night to take home silver in the men's 200-metre at Rio.

In Markham, a big crowd watched the race at Olympic Square, a special viewing area set up for the Games.

• Markham celebrates hometown sprinter's success

Those in attendance marvelled at both the young sprinter's speed but also his calm, racing next to Bolt.

"I was nervous," Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti told CBC News.

"We have such high expectations of him we know the pressure, the moment, can always lead to a different turnout."

Turns out, it didn't.

De Grasse wanted more

After the race, De Grasse admitted he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't catch Bolt.

"Yesterday I felt so good, ran a personal best, and today I felt pretty good in my warm-up and I tried to execute the best way I know how and I just came up a little bit short," De Grasse said.

"I was ready to try to challenge [Bolt] and he just ran away from me and I couldn't catch him. It is what it is."

De Grasse's coach, Stuart McMillan, also expressed some disappointment, saying the Canadian had "a good opportunity" to beat Bolt. Back in the GTA, De Grasse's first coach was also watching and thinking he had a shot at gold.

De Grasse is set to hit the Rio 2016 track one more time, racing with the Canadian team in the 4 x 100-metre relay. You can watch that race on CBC at 9:30 p.m. ET.