Aaron Brown sets personal-best 200m time at Diamond League event
Canadian sprinter Aaron Brown made a goal this week to run the 200 metres in under 20 seconds before the end of the season.
He achieved it less than two days later, running a 19.98 en route to a second-place finish at the Diamond League's Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday.
It's the fastest that Brown has ever run the event.
Ramil Guliyev of Turkey won the race with a time of 19.90, while Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards finished third.
Brown surpassed his personal record of 20.00, which he set more than two years ago in Baton Rouge, LA.
The 26-year-old Toronto native also finished second at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April.
Brown has spent the past two weeks focused on the first 100 metres of the 200, trying to understand the importance of not decelerating mentally over the last 50 metres.
His coach, former Olympic 100 bronze medallist Dennis Mitchell, has been working with Brown to make the proper adjustments.
"The centrifugal force and tightness of the turn is something that has given him problems over the years," Mitchell said. "We had to make technical adjustments to make him feel comfortable and we've kind of cracked that code this season.
"The times he has shown in practice tells me he's in 19-second shape, easily, but he's still learning the nuances of racing these [elite] guys. We want Aaron competing well and if he does that, he will be one of the top three guys going into the Diamond League final and in contention for the trophy."
It's paid off for Brown, who will look to improve even further on his new personal best at the Diamond League's Bauhaus-Galan meet in Stockholm on Sunday (CBCSports.ca, 10 a.m. ET).
Watson reaches podium
Sage Watson climbed onto the podium for the sixth time this year at the Games, finishing third in the women's 400 hurdles.
The Medicine Hat, Alta., native clocked in at a season's best time of 54.55, just .03 seconds off from her all-time personal best of 54.52.
Watson's time came close to the Canadian record of 54.39 set by Rosey Edeh back in 1996.
Americans Dalilah Muhammad and Shamier Little finished first and second in the race, respectively.
In nine events this year, Watson has finished first on three occasions. She won in Tucson, Ariz., and San Diego in March, and in Osaka, Japan last month.
Watson also finished in the top spot in both the 400 metres in Tucson, and the indoor event in Montreal earlier this year.
Gleadle 8th
Liz Gleadle finished in eighth place in the women's javelin throw.
It's her lowest finish of the year, following three podium appearances in five competitions this season. She's still searching for a first-place finish in 2018.
She scored a 55.93.
The event was won by Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus, with a score of 67.47.
