Three-time Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse of Toronto, Ontario, and Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Aaron Brown of Toronto, Ontario, each won a medal on Friday in the men’s 200 metres at the Doha Diamond League event from Qatar. De Grasse, who won the Olympic silver medal in the men’s 200 metres, and Olympic bronze medals in the men’s 100 metres and the 4×100 metre relay (with Brown) at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, placed second in Qatar with a time of 19.89 seconds. Brown was in third place with a time of 20.25 seconds.
The winner of the men’s 200 metres on Friday was American Kenneth Bednarek, who had a winning time of 19.88 seconds. Bednarek ran 0.45 seconds faster in Doha than he did in Gateshead, England last Sunday.
The race in Doha for De Grasse went much better than the race in England. In Gateshead, Bednarek dominated the competition, as he beat Brown by 0.46 seconds and De Grasse by 0.52 seconds. On Friday, De Grasse had an excellent finish to the race, and nearly clipped Bednarek at the line.
De Grasse reached the podium in Doha by 0.56 seconds, while Brown finished third by two-tenths of a second. Emmanuel Matadi of Liberia finished in fourth place with a time of 20.45 seconds. The medals for De Grasse and Brown in Doha will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
