A couple of local athletes are competing at the World Youth Track and Field Championships, which are under way in Moncton, New Brunswick, wrapping up Sunday, July 25.
Among them is Aaron Brown who earned a silver medal at last year's junior world's in Italy,Although a Beach resident, he is a recent grad of Scarborough's Birchmount Park Collegiate, where he was also a football star. This September he will be attending the University of Southern California on a track scholarship.Brown easily made it out of the Tuesday, July 20, preliminary heat, finishing second in his own heat in a time of 10.37 seconds.Both the semifinal and championship heat are slated for the evening of Wednesday, July 21.Brown's preliminary time was a personal best and shattered his personal best time of 10.46 seconds, which he set at last year's world junior track and field championships, held in Italy, in the semifinals. He went on to earn a silver medal in a time of 10.74 seconds behind U.S. runner Prezel Hardy who earned gold at 10.57 seconds."I felt it went pretty good. I didn't get the best of starts. I just held myself to the end. Hopefully (Wednesday) I can go a lot faster," said Brown in an interview on the Athletics Canada website."My start is always my weakness, but I feel I can get off better than I did - better reaction time, better drive phase. If I can do that I know I can go a lot faster tomorrow."Earlier this month he won the national 100m championship in Moncton and prior to that the Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (OFSAA) 100m gold medal, although he also pulled a hamstring in that event."He went down like he was shot," said his coach Bill Stephens with the Phoenix track club, which trains out of Birchmount Stadium."We've been rehabing. (The nationals) was his first meet since then. I know he's still not 100 per cent."The two other athletes include:- Marlon Laidlaw-Allen. He will suit up for Canada in the relays (the final is scheduled for Sunday, July 25). At the nationals earlier this month, he earned a silver medal in the 200m in 21.88 seconds. He finished third in that event at OFSAA in his first year in the senior division. Also a member of the Phoenix club, Laidlaw-Allen is a student at Scarborough's Bendale Collegiate.- and Crystal Emmanuel. She will race for Canada in the 200m event, for which she earned a silver medal at the nationals earlier this month in a time of 24.16s. She collected another medal in the 100m, finishing third in a time of 12.17 seconds. A member of the Flying Angels track club, Emmanuel is a student of Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto. She was the OFSAA champ over 200m (24.08) and third over 100m (12.26). The 200m finals are slated for Friday, July 23.