Aaron Brown runs season-best time en route to 200m win
Canadian sprinter clocks 20.06 seconds, while compatriot Gabriela DeBues-Stafford has strong 5000m debut
Aaron Brown ran away with the 200-metre victory at the Stockholm Diamond League meet on Thursday, besting his competition by more than a quarter of a second.
Brown clocked in at 20.06 seconds, a season-best time and only 0.08 off his personal best. Turkey's Ramil Guliyev finished second at 20.40.
Brown's previous season's best was 20.07, which he ran in Shanghai, China on May 18.
"I know I'm one of the best starters in the world in the 200 metres because of my 100-metre background, so these guys are really strong at the end so I made sure I put some distance on them at the beginning and then tried to hang on," Brown said.
WATCH | Aaron Brown cruises to season-best time in Stockholm:
"That's the game plan — Guliyev is a strong finisher, he's run me down a bunch of times so I tried to put some distance on him and hold on."
It's the second straight Diamond League win and third straight podium finish for Brown in the 200. He won the 200 in Shanghai two weeks ago — a field that included Canadian Olympic silver medallist Andre De Grasse — for his first career Diamond League victory, and finished third in Doha, Qatar on May 3.
WATCH | Cold weather not a problem for Brown:
Stafford's record-setting debut
Canada's Gabriela DeBues-Stafford had a phenomenal debut in the 5000, finishing fourth with a time of 14:51.59. She even led coming around one of the final turns, and set a national record in the process.
WATCH | Stafford finishes 4th:
The previous Canadian record was held by Courtney Babcock with a time of 14:54.98, set at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris.
In other finishes, Canada's Brittany Crew placed third in shot put, with a distance of 18.28 metres, while Sarah Mitton placed fifth at 17.18.
Crystal Emmanuel finished sixth in the women's 200, clocking in at 23.14.
WATCH | Crew 3rd in shot put:
With files from The Canadian Press