RIO DE JANEIRO—In the end, it was not a brotherhood, or a bromance, awful word that it is. In the end, Andre De Grasse was the closest thing to Usain Bolt, but he was not close. Nobody was close.

All week the two of them had laughed and goofed around, even when De Grasse made the big man unhappy. Bolt and Andre, Andre and Bolt, big brother, little brother, all the smiles, and most of all the two men running as fast as anybody in the world can run, side by side. It has become one of the enduring images of these Games.

But in the final Olympic individual race of the great Jamaican’s career, there were no smiles. Bolt burst out, and he could not be caught. Or rather, he was not. Bolt isn’t young anymore, and maybe there was a chance, a slender window. But De Grasse wasn’t close enough, even with his hellacious closing speed. Bolt finished in 19.78, and De Grasse at 20.02.

“I felt like I had a great shot,” said De Grasse. “I’m not sure if I used up too much energy yesterday and didn’t have anything left today . . . coming home I just didn’t have the same push as I had.”

Slow night, and a missed chance. This time, there was no palling around. There were no funny smiles. They tapped one another’s chest or shoulders, perfunctory acknowledgment, and De Grasse didn’t look happy.

“We had a strategy to try and tire out Usain last night, and I think we did that,” said De Grasse’s coach, Stuart McMillan. “It’s clear that Usain was a little tired tonight. And I think that’s why we’re a little bit frustrated, because he was there for the taking, and we just couldn’t get it done.

“I think he was very close. I mean, Usain Bolt in his prime is untouchable, but Usain Bolt in 2016 is touchable. . . . I mean, Andre did not come here to get a bronze medal or a silver medal, especially in the 200 metres. He really thought he could win.”

McMillan said DeGrasse’s first 40 metres were perfect, but that he lost the race coming out of the bend: he tried to rush it, lost some form, and wasn’t close enough to close the gap.

“He was ready to run 19.5, 19.6,” said McMillan. “He’s a 21-year-old kid. He just started track four years ago. We’ll sleep on this, and we’ll be ecstatic.”

Indeed, the 21-year-old from Markham won Canada’s first 200-metre medal since 1928, and delivered Canada’s first two-medal performance in track and field since 1932. De Grasse could get a third Friday night, in the men’s 4X100 relay. Maybe even gold.

But he couldn’t beat Bolt. Nobody can, when it matters. De Grasse pushed Bolt in the 200 semifinal, made him run hard — a 19.78 to De Grasse’s 19.80, the third- and fourth-fastest times run all year — and why after the smiles and the prancing Bolt seemed annoyed after the race. He is 29, with hamstring and back troubles. He complained about the seven fewer minutes between the semis and the finals of the 100 on Sunday night than they would usually get. Being the fastest man on Earth is about raw power, but about fine tuning, too. Usain Bolt isn’t young anymore.

“(Bolt) told me it wasn’t necessary, he told me you’re going to learn from that, you’re young,” said De Grasse. “And I guess I did pay for it today.”

But De Grasse tried to beat the champ, and that said something. Bolt says he will retire after the 2017 world championships: he will turn 30 this year, and has already climbed all the mountains. This makes eight gold medals in eight tries over three Olympics: Three in the 100, three in the 200, and one more to go in the men’s 4X100 relay Friday night. His dominance is unparalleled; it is magnificent. He has set the bar so high that nobody can see it from where they stand.

“I don’t need to prove anything else,” Bolt told the TV cameras. “What else can I do to prove to the world I am the greatest?”

Nothing. De Grasse, meanwhile, can still improve his start, he can get stronger, he can learn to produce a more complete race to stitch onto his stretch speed. In that way, he’s a mini-Bolt — the Jamaican has always had to work harder at the part of the race before he raises his wide shoulders and hits that blurring top gear, even if that top gear isn’t the same. De Grasse has so much room to grow.

“Usain is Usain,” said De Grasse. “It’s incredible the things he’s done.”

Still, what a marvellous Olympics for De Grasse. So young, and he was clearly the second-best runner in the field. Justin Gatlin, the silver medallist in the 100, didn’t make the final here. De Grasse did. Bolt is the best, but De Grasse can be that man. In Tokyo, he could be the fastest man in the world.

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“A couple years ago, I never thought I would be in the position to be one of the greatest,” said De Grasse. “In my Olympic debut, and coming away with two Olympic medals. Now I’m in the moment, I’m still happy, I’m grateful that I did it, but at the same time I wanted to come away with a gold.”

But for now he was a sidebar, a relative footnote. Bolt didn’t give the kid much time at the end. He kissed the finish line, danced away, celebrated to the world. De Grasse was not a part of the club, not really, because there can be no other members. In the end, Bolt stands alone.

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