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Aaron Brown tops Canadian teammates in Botswana Golden Grand Prix 200m

Brown finished in second place behind Letsile Tebogo, Botswana's teenaged sprinting phenom

Aaron Brown Photo by: Athletics Canada

Aaron Brown ran to a second-place finish in the 200m at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on Saturday, besting his relay teammates Brendon RodneyJerome Blake and Andre De Grasse on his way to the podium. Brown stormed to the line with a 20.00-second run at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone, the African nation’s capital city, finishing behind local favourite Letsile Tebogo, who won the race in 19.87 seconds. Tebogo’s run is the world lead for 2023 so far, and Brown’s puts him in a tie for second-fastest in the world this year with American Christian Coleman.

 

Saturday’s race marked the first 200m of the year for Brown, and it beat his season best from 2022. Last year, the fastest 200m result Brown posted was a 20.02 run in Switzerland during his last race of the season. He has to be thrilled with 20 seconds flat to kick off his 2023 campaign in the distance, and it will surely give him a shot of momentum as he works toward his next race at the Doha Diamond League meet on May 5. 

While Brown would undoubtedly have loved a win in Botswana, he can’t be upset with a loss to Tebogo, who at just 19 is already one of the best sprinters in the world. Tebogo is a two-time U20 world champion with back-to-back gold medals in the 100m in 2021 and 2022. He has also won two consecutive silver medals in the 200m at the U20 worlds. 

Tebogo’s 100m best of 9.91 seconds (a time that won him his U20 gold in 2022) is a U20 world record and a Botswana senior national record. His winning time of 19.87 seconds on Saturday is his new 200m PB, and it is the second-fastest time in Botswana’s history. 

Behind Tebogo and Brown was Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, who ran onto the podium in 20.14. Rodney, Blake and De Grasse finished in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Brown and Blake also raced the 100m earlier in the day, with Brown finishing just off the podium in fourth in a time of 10.06 seconds and Blake running to eighth in 10.39. 

In the women’s 200m in Gaborone, Americans Kayla White and Sha’Carri Richardson battled it out for the top spot. White ended up taking the win, stopping the clock in 22.38 seconds. Richardson finished a few strides back in 22.54, and she was followed by Egyptian record holder Bassant Hemida, who rounded out the podium with a 22.75 run. 

For full results from the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, click here

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