Aaron Brown sprints to 1st 200-metre win of season, holding off Kyree King in Kenya
Fellow Canadian Ethan Katzberg 2nd in hammer throw, Jerome Blake 7th in 100m
Despite a delayed start, Toronto sprinter Aaron Brown maintained his composure on the straightaway and finished strong, posting his third top-three placing in as many 200-metre races this season and first victory on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya.
No warnings were given to any athlete following a false start and Brown improved his performance as the race progressed, coming off the bend in first place and holding off American Kyree King to win in 20.12 seconds at the Kip Keino Classic.
"It was an incredibly fast [start] gun [after the false start] and I got caught off guard," Brown told CBC Sports after the race. "I didn't push as hard as normal, my reaction [time] was off and I didn't execute the first part of the race like I normally do. But I stayed patient and executed the second half to win the race.
"I'm pleased given the circumstances, but I know today could've been a [personal-best] day." Brown's 19.95 PB is from July 2019 and he went 20-flat in his first 200 this year in late April at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
He added Saturday's race execution was the opposite to the 200 at the season-opening Diamond League in Doha, Qatar, where Brown noted he tightened up in the final 100 metres after running a strong curve and finishing third.
WATCH | Brown sprints to victory in Nairobi:
Brown also won last year's race in Nairobi in a wind-assisted 20.05 over King, who matched his 2022 time of 20.18 on Saturday, a season best. He opened his outdoor campaign in the event with a 20.29 showing in Doha.
"The altitude is the biggest difference [from other cities]. It's harder to catch your breath but it leads to faster times," said Brown. "I've heard they are converting to a Diamond League next season so that will give even more incentive to make the trip."
Liberian-American sprinter Joseph Fahnbulleh, the 2022 NCAA Division 1 champion in the 200, was third in 20.19 at Saturday's World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet.
Brown implemented 400-metre base training into his program the past few months in hopes off pushing through the early-season rust quickly in the 100 and 200. His first outdoor race of 2023 was a winning performance in the 400 (45.84 seconds) on April 1 at the Florida Relays.
"I feel like I'm in great shape after that [race] and I'm just looking to get more race sharp," he said. "Staying healthy is the key."
Brown will race the 100 at the USA Track and Field Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 27 and return to the 200 in Diamond League action June 2 in Florence, Italy.
WATCH | Brown: 'I had a strong finish and held my composure'
Quick recovery
Elsewhere, Ethan Katzberg, fresh off a PB and season world-leading 78.41-metre hammer throw, placed second on Saturday with a best of 76.38 on the fourth of his six attempts at the Moi International Sports Centre.
The 21-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., started slowly with a 70.14 opening throw but rebounded with 75.72 on his next try.
WATCH | Katzberg shines in hammer throw coming off personal best:
Wojcieh Nowicki of Poland threw 79.78 to win the six-man competition and boasts the meet record of 81.43. Hungary's Donat Varga was third (74.12) despite posting a foul on four of six throws.
Katzberg was brimming with confidence after his 78.41 showing on May 5 at the Dylan Armstrong Track Classic in Kamloops, B.C., where he has lived since 2020. The performance met the 78.00 automatic qualifying standard for the men's event at the Aug. 19-27 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The six-foot-six, 235-pound Katzberg trains with Armstrong, the two-time Olympian and head coach at Kamloops Track and Field Club who won bronze in shot put at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Katzberg made headlines last August with a then-PB of 76.36 for a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The throw surpassed his previous best by over two metres and remains the Canadian under-23 record.
"Paris 2024 [next Summer Olympics] is what I am working for," he told the Victoria Times-Colonist at the time.
American Janee' Kassanavoid threw up a big surprise in the women's hammer on Saturday with her heave of 74.25 to win. Compatriot Janeah Stewart was second with 71.43, both ahead of Poland's reigning three-time Olympic champion and world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk.
In the men's 100 sprint, Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., was last of seven finishers in 10.20.
He began the season with a couple of wind-aided performances in Miramar, Fla. (10.05) and Botswana (10.39) before a legal 10.11 a week ago to win the national 100 in Doha. It was the fastest time across two heats as a final was not contested and athletes did not accrue Diamond League points.
WATCH | Blake clocks 10.20 seconds over 100 metres in Kenya:
Omanyala sprints to world-leading time
Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala brought the hometown crowd to its feet Saturday with a winning time of 9.84 into a slight headwind. He clocked 9.85 to take last year's race.
With his fifth consecutive win to start the outdoor season, the 27-year-old Omanyala surpassed Jamaican Terrence Jones's 9.91 season world-leading time but fell short of American Trayvon Bromell's meet mark of 9.76.
Still, Omanyala has been spectacular on the young campaign after not advancing from the semifinals at 2022 worlds last summer in Eugene, Ore. He bounced back to win the Commonwealth Games final in 10.02.
"Though I did not break the African record as promised, I'm happy with the world lead," said Omanyala, whose 9.77 from the 2021 Kip Keino Classic is the national mark. "This year, it's me against time with the target of the world title."
Kenny Bednarek was second on Saturday in 9.98, a season best, while fellow American Marvin Bracy was third in a 10.03 SB.
Steven Odhiambo of Kenya was disqualified for a false start.
Sha'Carri Richardson, U.S. women sweep 200m
Sha'Carri Richardson of the U.S. took victory in the women's 200 in a meet record 22.07 to follow her win in the 100 at the Doha Diamond League.
Kyra Richardson (22.77) and Shannon Ray (22.82) completed an American sweep in the race.
Richardson said she wanted to run in the 100 in a showdown with Jamaica's two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. In the end, Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the meet with a muscle strain and Richardson stepped up to the 200.
In the absence of both of them in the 100, Tawnisha Terry won in 10.86. Terry, or "Tee Tee" as she's known, was on the U.S. gold medal-winning 4x100 relay team at the world championships last year.
"The race was good. I wanted to impress the home crowd and it's an amazing feeling to keep doing what I do," she said.
New Zealand's Zoe Hobbs was second in 10.97 and Belgium's Rani Rosius third.
WATCH | Full coverage of Saturday's Kip Keino Classic:
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With files from The Associated Press
