Aaron Brown to lead strong Canadian contingent at Florence Diamond League

It’s no surprise that Canadian sprinter Aaron Brown continues to strive for more. He’s already opened up his ninth year as a pro runner with near personal best times in the 100m and 200m, and on Friday, he’ll be one of four Canadian athletes at the Florence Diamond League, battling a field of up and coming stars in the men’s 200m.

Brown, who just celebrated his 31st birthday, opened his 2023 outdoor season with a 9.97 in the 100m and 20 seconds flat in the 200m. “Running these times this early in the season is definitely a confidence boost,” says Brown. “Last year, I felt I was in PR shape, but my best races came in high headwinds or tailwinds.” 

Brown’s 2022 season was impressive. He reached world championship finals in the 100 and 200m, won two national titles and helped Canada to 4×100 relay gold in Eugene. Despite winning a global relay medal, he fell short of his big goal–winning an individual medal at the Olympics or Worlds. 

“The big goal has always been an individual medal at worlds,” says the 31-year-old.”But I have a small goal to PR in the 100m and 200m before I run both at Canadian nationals in July.”

Consistency has been a recipe for success for Brown, and he’s continuing to rely on it, waiting for his hard work to pay off. “I know the way I’ve been running in training,” Brown says. “I’m confident a PR will come soon.”

Brown says the main focus over the past two seasons has been putting together a consistent string of races against the good competition when it matters. “Everything is working backward from major championships, so I know my prep has to be toward peaking at the right time–being at my best when it matters most,” he says.

He’s also been adding more 400m-style workouts to his training, which helped him run a 400m personal best of 45.84 seconds in his season opener. Brown has subtly become one of the veterans at meets, but he is ranked inside the top 10 in World Athletics 200m rankings, sitting sixth. On Friday, he will be the oldest sprinter in the field as he takes on a field of up-and-coming 200m sprinters featuring Erriyon Knighton, Joseph Fahnbulleh and Alexander Ogando, who were all born after the year 2000. 

Four in Florence

Brown will be one of four Canadian athletes at Friday’s Florence Diamond League. Canadian 1,500m record holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford will make her long-awaited return to the circuit after suffering a sacral stress fracture last summer, which took her out for the entirety of the 2022 season. She will be in the women’s 1,500m and up against the reigning Olympic gold and silver medallists in the event, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and Team GB’s Laura Muir.

Canadian 3,000m steeplechaser Regan Yee of South Hazelton, B.C., will make her second Diamond League appearance (she made her Diamond League debut at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.) Yee will be chasing her personal best of 9:27.54 and the 2023 World Championship qualifying standard of 9:23.00.

Last but not least, newly crowned Canadian 10K champion Moh Ahmed will race the men’s 5,000m. Ahmed showcased his fitness in Ottawa last weekend, throwing down a 2:40/km final kilometre to beat Cam Levins by 18 seconds for the 2023 national 10K title. “I knew Ottawa and Florence (Diamond League) was a short turnaround, but I am happy with how things turned out and excited for the rest of the season,” said Ahmed post-race. Ahmed will have his hands full in a loaded 5,000m, which will feature world record holder Joshua Cheptegei, Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega and Ahmed’s Bowerman Track Club teammate, Grant Fisher.

How to watch

You can stream all the action from Friday’s Florence Diamond League online with CBC Sports, starting at 2 p.m. E.T.